Stealth
by Moonlightdeer
Summary: Ironhide would've never guessed the youngling femme seeker he pulled from the rubble would have such an impact on all those on base's lives, but hey, anything's possible when you teach them how to throw grenades at age 7 vorns the chaos only gets worse though when a certain set of twins decide to start a prank war only time will tell how long it'll take for them to destroy reality
1. From rubble to rec room

**Well, Lunarburst23 is being pushy, she requested I write a Seeker/Twins fic, and so here it is, I would've written more too, like finished five chapters, but, with the fourth in progress, Lunarburst insisted I put this up, well, not much else to say, the main Oc is owned by both of us as a collaboration, now then, on with the chapter! And I hope you enjoy! Lunarburst certainly does, hence why she's so pushy to have this out.**

* * *

Chapter 1

Dark smoke filled the air around two figures as they huddled close behind a large chunk of wall, the piece having long since come loose from its former building, and now instead played the role of shield against multiple explosions, thankfully holding up against the intense heat and force of each blast.

The smaller of the two figures, barely coming up to the hip of the far larger, pitch black with red detailed mech, was shaking, her grip on the riffle in her hold sloppy at best, the mech had just found her breems ago, shoved the weapon into her unskilled servos, and told her she'd have to learn to shoot fast, or she would end up scrap metal.

Blue optics wide with fear she glanced around her, spark almost leaping from her chassis as another explosive round detonated not far away from their shelter, causing a startled yelp to leave her as she shuffled closer to the mech. "I-I-I'm scared." She admitted, tone almost too quiet to hear over the sounds of battle.

The larger mech cast his own blue optics down towards her for a moment, in his spark he knew the femme wasn't ready for war, she wasn't even in her adult frame yet, but, after pulling the youngling seeker femme from the rubble, he knew deep down that this was the only way, he himself had been cut off from his unit when he found her, they were waiting for him, holding off any Decepticons who tried to take out their transport, all he had in his way, was a whole lot of explosives rigged ground, many having already detonated leaving nothing but charred remains and craters, he would go straight ahead himself, but, the femme seeker complicated things, there were too many shots flying overhead randomly for her to fly, so the only way for her, was to go across by pede.

"I know runt, but if we're going to get out of this mess online, you're going to have to control that fear, and focus." He stated, taking another glance down at her, her form was still developing, but her violet, with gold and white accented form was one built for speed and stealth, not full out combat, she was quite narrowly built, her pedes clawed with three tips each for grip. The femmes back strut was adorned by four separate wings all of which were currently pinned down, her fear easy to see even in the thick smoke. "Hey, runt what's you're..." He was cut off by an explosive round going of directly on their shield, a large crack appearing up the middle, their shelters life expectancy had just dropped significantly.

The larger mech coughed up smoke which had filled his vents, he looked back to where the femme was, only to see her gone.

A different kind of fear latched onto his spark then, she'd likely bolted, and the only way was over the fields of buried mines. Choosing not to give away his position with a call to try and locate the femme, the larger mech threw himself over the shield and into a roll which quickly turned into a lumbering sprint, his two arm cannons firing up to take out any possible would be attackers, of either himself or the femme he was trying to protect, who'd all but disappeared from sight.

The sounds of battle drowned out the startled squeak which came from back behind their makeshift shield, followed swiftly by panicked pede steps.

By some miracle, none of his steps triggered any of the explosive mines, the field had been laid a few orns ago, so he figured that most had already been detonated.

He reached the large soldier transporter in surprisingly little time, but when he arrived, his spark fell into his tanks.

The small seeker femme wasn't there.

Instead, Kup stood there at the entrance, the lights from inside illuminating them both. "Ironhide! We feared you'd been taken out by that sniper!" The Wrecker leader all but cheered as he welcomed the larger solemn mech.

Ironhide didn't respond for a moment, optics darting up into the entrance of the flying transport. "Did a femme seeker youngling arrive earlier? I lost sight of her on the other side of the mine field. And it would take more than a sniper with a lousy shot go take me out, you should know that yourself Kup." He growled out the last part of the conversation, the worry he'd expressed when asking about the femme quickly switching out.

Kup gained a confused look for a moment, he looked like he was about to respond when a large shell hit the side of the large, and thankfully well armoured ship. "No time to search 'Hide. We have to get out of here. Crystal city's too torn up to be use to anyone now." He stated solemnly.

Ironhide released a vent as he followed Kup up the walkway, some mech he was, not being able to look after...

"You are so _cute_! Hey?! Where'd she go?"

The call came right as he entered the main seating area, his optics widening at the sight.

Whirl, a less than stable in the helm mech, was standing in the middle of the seating area, his helm twisting and turning so that the single optic, and only feature on his faceplates, could search the surrounding area.

"Where'd who go?" Kup enquired, glaring at the insane mech, if it wasn't for the fact the mech was an incredible fighter and only just sane enough not to offline anyone on their side, he'd would've long since been thrown into some prison to live out the rest of his mad cycles.

Springer, a large green mech spoke up in answer. "Little femme seeker, Whirl picked her up after he found her hiding under a chair, next thing I saw, she fizzed out in a load of pixels." He explained.

The dots started to come together in Ironhide's helm. "What were the femmes colours?" He enquired.

"Purple, err, gold and white, cute little thing. Little creepy though, okay, really creepy." Springer answered, his optics darting around the area in an attempt to locate the small femme.

Ironhide stepped further into the room. "Runt? You there?" He enquired, only to jolt as something latched around his pede, staring downwards he found nothing there, at least until he heard an almost 'fizz' like sound, before the youngling seeker he'd been trying to keep safe, appeared, arms wrapped tightly around his pede and helm buried into his knee joint. "Primus Runt, where did you go?" He asked as he slowly knelt down, prying her arms from around his pede and lifting her up, she was so light he could easily hold her in the crook of his arm.

She gazed up at him with wide and fearful optics. "The e-explosion scared me, I think my cloak turned on as reflex, then the next thing I knew, you were going over that wall and charging out onto the field, I didn't want to be left behind so I tried to keep up, I ran up here when you stopped to talk to that other mech, then that one with no faceplates startled me, Mr, I want to go home." She whimpered, burying her helm into his neck cables as silent cries rocked her frame, her wings hitching up and down with each laboured breath.

Ironhide glanced around the seating area, everyone was watching the sight before them with sorrow in their optics, another innocent member of their kind pulled into this horrible war.

Kup stepped up and gently tapped the femme youngling on the shoulder plate. "Little one, do you know where your creators are?" He enquired.

"T-t-they're g-g-gone, we-we l-lived at the t-top of a s-skyscraper, c-carrier p-pushed me out the w-window when the f-floor g-gave w-way, I was h-h-halfway down the b-building when my b-bond with them s-s-shattered, that's how I ended up in the rubble." She whimpered, her voice box hitching at intervals.

They all exchanged looks, this was a delicate situation, internally Ironhide cursed off quite a few things, for causing such grief in such a young femme, she looked no older than six vorns old at the most, it was now however, in the light of the now in motion transport, that he noticed the multiple cuts and dents on her form, likely from when she'd landed in the pile of rubble she'd landed in.

He'd seen that scraper go down, not breems before he'd pulled her out of the rubble pile, she'd only been an orphan for a joor at the most.

The youngling whined again, holding even tighter to his frame as he moved to sit down, once seated she relaxed slightly, but at no time released her surprisingly powerful grip on his shoulder armour and neck guard.

He nudged her slightly, he still hadn't even learnt her designation. "Runt? What's your designation? We may be able to find you a close relative to stay with if we knew who you are." He stated.

She lifted her helm up to look at him and his spark felt like it had just split in two, there was so much fear and grief swirling around in those pools of blue, he was surprised she hadn't drowned in them. "N-novalight, my d-designation is N-novalight. But my creators always called me Nova. And don't bother, they're all gone too, they all hid in a shelter, we saw Cons break inside, they're not online anymore." She whimpered.

The next few cons he saw where going to lose their helms by his bare servos, Novalight was too young, she shouldn't have to be put through something like this, no one should in truth.

* * *

Iacon

"Runt, let go."

"No."

"Runt, how is Red Alert supposed to help you if you won't let go of me?" Ironhide asked as he Red Alert and Inferno all tried to pry the tricolour seeker youngling from her vice like grip on the weapons specialists arm.

Novalight didn't respond, her grip loosening just enough for Red Alert to be able to pull the youngling off.

Red Alert carefully placed the small femme down, the mech then moving to one of the table's which held his tools. "Okay then little one, let's get you all fixed up."

For the next five breems, Novalight didn't move, optics focused on the wall adjacent and form as stiff as crystal.

The moment Red Alert finished however, Ironhide was very nearly knocked off his pedes as the femme youngling launched at him, servos wrapping tight around his neck cables and her legs wrapped tight around his lower arm.

Inferno let off a low whistle. "She's a fast little thing ain't she?" He muttered.

Ironhide looked down at the small femme, then to Red Alert, he knew seekers were clingy when scared, but this little one was being a little more than clingy.

"If what you said earlier is to believed, she's in emotional shock, you were the first thing she saw after losing her creators other than rubble, it would then stand to reason that she would want to stay with you, you are currently the only thing she recognises as safe, and as such she's likely to follow you until she feels safe again." The medic analysed, keeping his distance just in case, Inferno stood beside him, the large emergency response mech gazing at the small femme with intrigue.

Ironhide decided to just roll with it, he had a debriefing with Prime first though, and then he could go looking for Chromia, the femme who had his spark wrapped around her smallest digit.

Novalight was completely contempt with continuing her vice like hold on his arm as he made his way out of the med bay, her optics darting at any bot who walked past, and each caused her to tense.

"Easy runt, they ain't gonna even try to hurt you." He tried to calm her down, he was surprised she hadn't told him to stop calling her runt, but for now, he was content with the femme youngling being there, odd looks from others weren't anything new.

If his presence helped her stay calm, then so be it, no need to stress a youngling who'd just lost her creators.

He strode right into Optimus' office, knocking wasn't something he really bothered with.

He had to admit though, Optimus' expression when he noticed the femme seeker wrapped around his arm tighter than a neon snake, was one he would keep in the storage files of his mind for as long as he was online.

"Ironhide? Who's this young one?" Optimus enquired, one optic ridge having been lost high up in the mechs helm.

"Novalight. Optimus I found her in some rubble from a fallen skyscraper, her creators perished in the collapse, and she's adamant in staying attached to some part of my frame, I intend to leave her be until she feels safe enough to leave my frame herself, if that is alright with you? Red Alert's already fixed her up and he says it's just a instinctual desire to be with something she recognises as being safe." He explained.

Optimus' face had shifted at multiple points during his weapon specialist's explanation, but by the end, he'd risen from his chair and had made his way over to the two. "I am sorry for your loss young one, but for obvious safety reasons, you will not be able to go with him back onto the battlefield, it is too dangerous for someone as young as you out there." He explained.

Novalight looked up at him, to the six vorn old, the mech was huge, larger than even the one she was currently latched onto, out of habit, her cloaking ability activated, her frame dissolving from view in a flurry of pixels in a matter of astroseconds.

Optimus blinked in confusion at the suddenly unoccupied arm. "That, that was not what I expected." He admitted.

Ironhide nodded. "Gave me a major fright too, she was sparked with a cloaking device, it activates when she gets spooked, you likely surprised her, I assure you though, she is still very much locked around my arm." He couldn't stop the endearing smile even if he wanted to.

Something Optimus didn't miss. "I will have Kup send me the details of the battle, Chromia has been com-linking everyone to ask where you are, and I think the femmes will enjoy having another member in their small group." It was the Prime's turn to smile knowingly then, he was well aware of Ironhide, and Chromia's fondness for sparkling's and youngling's.

And knowing how all the femmes where, this little youngling was going to be well looked after. "Dismissed old friend."

Ironhide gave a loose salute before turning and walking back out the door, making his way towards the main recroom, where he'd been informed by Jazz, was where his intended was.

Novalight was still invisible on his arm, to his knowledge there was no time limit on her ability.

What confused him though, was the fact that she had been sparked with the ability, cloaking devices where an added feature that could be given, but most didn't due to the taboo which surrounded it, a femme seeker being sparked with that ability, was in truth, unheard off, he was genuinely surprised that Red Alert, nor Optimus had made a comment about it.

The moment his second pede had entered the recroom, a blue and white mass had crashed into him, thankfully he kept it balance, but Novalight's grip seemed to only increase tenfold at the sudden movement.

Chromia currently had her arms wrapped around his middle, her helm resting on his chassis. "I was so worried when we lost contact." She whispered, not willing to let anyone else in the recroom know how worried she was.

Ironhide responded by easily hefting her up with her free arm, something which caused the blue and white femme to laugh in mirth about. "Put me down you!" She exclaimed.

"Nope, got someone to introduce to you." He responded.

That seemed to peak everyone's interest.

Arcee looked up from the data pad she was reading. "You find a new pet Ironhide?" She joked.

Ironhide didn't answer straight away, instead easing himself down into one of the large sofas, Chromia shifting to lay half on top of his chassis.

With his arm free again, he carefully nudged where he could feel Novalight's arm. "Come on runt, time to come out."

That earned him a few extra odd looks.

At least until Novalight's form reappeared, the pixels fizzling out to reveal her frame, still wrapped incredibly tight around his upper arm and shoulder.

There was silence in the room for a few moments as Chromia shifted closer to the youngling. "Well, that wasn't expected, what's your designation little one?" She asked, Novalight lifted her helm from where she'd buried it into his shoulder plate, looking at the femme with a bit of curiosity.

"Novalight, my designation is Novalight, but my creators called me Nova for short." She stated, her voice sounding a bit better now due to the relaxed environment around her.

Flareup practically leapt onto the sofa, her faceplates mere inches from Novalight's own. "You are so cute!" She very nearly squealed.

And just like that, her cloak had reactivated. "Wow! You can't even see her from this distance!" She exclaimed in awe.

Only to then have Chromia's servo pressed up against her faceplates as the blue and white femme pushed her off the sofa, causing her to land with a thud on her aft. "Don't scare the poor thing like that!" She snapped before turning to where Novalight was still clinging tightly to her intended. "Ignore Flareup, she was dropped on her helm as a sparkling." She joked, causing Flareup to give an indignant cry form her place on the floor.

A faint giggle came from Ironhide's arm, Novalight became visible again not to long after.

Chromia smiled at her little achievement of getting the seeker youngling to disengage her cloak. "Now then, I'm Chromia, Ironhide here's intended, that was Flareup." She pointed to the red and orange femme. "That's Arcee." She pointed to the purple and blue femme then to a slightly larger than the rest pink and white. "And our commander, Elita-1, Moonracer is off somewhere with that CMO of hers, so you'll meet her later. Now then, how did you end up with my mech little Nova?" She asked.

Novalight didn't answer, instead choosing to stare at the piece of armour she'd been burying her faceplates into.

Seeing this Ironhide spoke up. "I found her in the rubble of a collapsed skyscraper, I pulled her out, put a rifle in her servos and… "He stopped at his intendeds murderous look. "Well, the point is, her creators didn't survive the collapse of the building, and now, she's latched onto me for comfort until she feels safe enough here to move around herself." He explained.

Chromia frowned at this information, before an idea flew into her helm. "Screw comfort, Ironhide, we're adopting her."

"Hey! No fair!" Flareup cried. "I wanted to keep her!" She exclaimed.

Arcee chuckled. "The only thing you'd teach her to do is how to blow scrap up!" She shot back.

Ironhide however was starring between his intended and Novalight. Chromia seeing this interrupted his thoughts by saying. "Ironhide, look at her, she needs a family unit to raise her, she already feels safe around you, in my opinion, we're her best bet and you know it." She stated firmly.

"But, we aren't even bonded yet!" He exclaimed.

Chromia smirked. "Easily remedied." She responded.

Ironhide was thrown by her forwardness. Flareup however, burst into hysterical laughter at what she'd just heard and seen, followed quickly by a large percentage of the recroom. "'Mia! You have no shame!" Arcee squealed, placing her servos over her helm. "Little Nova's present for the love of Primus!"

Chromia didn't answer, instead sitting up and nudging Novalight's shoulder. "Little one, what do you think? Would you like it if we adopted you?" She asked.

Novalight had about half an astrosecond of thought before finally unlatching from Ironhide's now partially numb arm, instead lunging at the blue and white femme's chassis. It was all the answer Chromia and Ironhide needed.

Chromia gently pried the femme youngling off her front. "Then it's decided, but first, Nova sweaty, I want you to behave for Mrs Elita okay? She'll keep you safe whilst me and Ironhide 'sort out' a few things, when we get back, we'll make it official, that sound good to you?"

Novalight nodded her helm rapidly. "Yes new carrier." She chirped.

Chromia smiled. "Carrier, I like the sound of that."

She handed Novalight over to Elita-1, the pink and white femme placing the tricoloured seeker on her lap. "Hello there little one." The femme commander greeted.

Novalight smiled up at her leaning her helm back so she was looking that the femme upside down. "Nice to meet you Mrs Elita-1."

Chromia smirked as she took her intendeds servo, easily dragging the larger black and red mech out of the recroom at high speed.

Springer howled from his seat. "Give her a good one 'Hide!" He cheered.

Other mechs joined in on throwing cat-calls at the fast moving pair.

After they disappeared from view, all optics moved back to Novalight, only to find her having fallen into recharge against Elita-1's shoulder.

"Oh she is just precious." Arcee cooed.

Elita-1 nodded. "And soon, she'll be 'Mia and 'Hide's."

* * *

 **Well, that's all for now, the next will be out whenever I finish chapter four, now Lunar can stop nagging me about this!**

 **Moon**


	2. Paint grenades, enough said

**Ok! Chapter 2! Not much really to say other than, 223 views on the first chapter... My brain fried early today at that. Thanks for all the views! And everything else at that! Novalight is owned by both me and Lunarburst23, who is either nagging me to do more... well not really nagging, but asking ifI've done more at regular intervals, anyway, on with the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 2

Tired blue optics slowly onlined, the form they belonged to shifting slightly as their four wings fluttered, only to be stopped by a large mass behind them.

That was strange, her berth was right in the middle of the room, nothing surrounding it, why would her wings get caught on something.

Not knowing what else to do in the dark room, she felt around her creator bonds.

A mass in front of her shifted, a large blue servo wrapped around her middle and pulled her into the mass.

Love and adoration flowed over the bond.

That was strange, her creators never recharged with her, and whenever she tried to contact them over the bond, they'd always be irritated.

"Good cycle little Nova." The mass which was holding her murmured, pale blue optics onlined above her, looking down into her own.

That was when it all came back to her, her original creators were offline, she'd been taken from the ruins of Crystal city, and into the loving servos of a newly bonded couple.

All of this had occurred only the cycle before, Nova couldn't help the smile which formed on her faceplates though as she nuzzled her helm into her new carriers chassis. "Carrier." She trilled, wrapping her smaller arms and legs around all that she could reach.

Chromia's side of the bond practically exploded with love, waking her new sire up in the process, her carrier loved it when she called her that.

Her new sire grunted as he rolled over slightly, his own side of the bond swealing with both pride and adoration as he gazed upon his new family.

 _"_ _We did it 'Mia, our own little one."_ He murmured over their newly created bond, they'd also formed one with Novalight, officially making her theirs, and they relished in it.

Chromia nodded her helm as she eased herself up, after they'd bonded, the two had quickly retrieved Novalight from Elita-1's safe hold and just as quickly barricaded themselves in Ironhide's berth room, which they were going to have to expand for their new family.

Novalight detangled herself from her new carrier, turning her helm to look over her shoulder at her new sire. "Good cycle sire!" She chirped.

Now he knew what Chromia meant about his spark nearly exploding when she called her their titles. "Yes little Nova, it's a wondrous cycle." He rumbled, hoisting the small femme up into the air above his helm. "Who's the most adorable little seeker this side of the universe?" He asked.

Novalight shuttered her optics a few times in confusion.

Chromia decided to answer for her, ticking her daughters clawed pede. "You are!" You cooed.

Novalight squealed in surprise as she kicked her pedes, trying to evade her carriers digits. But all three where soon succumbing to laughter, seeing as Chromia decided to also attack her mate, Novalight seeing her chance, returned her attack on her new carriers audio fins.

She liked her new creators way more than her old ones.

After a few breems, Ironhide rose from the large berth, lifting Novalight with him as he made his way to the door which lead to the main accommodation corridor.

Chromia was quickly at his side, their servos intertwining as she leant up and pecked her new daughter on the side of her helm. "You ready for your first full day on base?" She asked.

Novalight beamed, now that she had her new creators, she didn't feel so scared anymore, there were too many positive emotions flowing through her new family units bond to feel in anyway sad or depressed. "Yep! Let's show um! We'll knock their lights out!" She cheered, fist flying upwards and lightly knocking into Ironhide's jaw.

All three paused for a moment, Chromia too busy trying to hide her laughter at her mates dumfounded look, and Novalight not wanting to be scolded.

Ironhide however, did not scold her. Instead, he chuckled, and then snorted, before breaking into a complete fit of laughter, soon followed by Chromia.

Novalight shuttered her optics in confusion as her new creators finally recovered from her laughing fit, Ironhide moved her so that his large servos were wrapped around her waist, hoisting her up so that he could rub his helm with hers. "You'll make a fine little spit fire when your older, I can see it now." He chuckled. "Yeah, spit fire, the moment your old enough, you're getting a flamethrower." He chortled.

Chromia wasn't sure if she should berate her mate for suggesting giving their daughter such a dangerous weapon, or agree with him completely, now that she wasn't scared out of her wits, their daughter seemed to have quite the wild streak.

Novalight tilted her helm in confusion. "What's a flamethrower?" She asked.

Ironhide chuckled. "I'll tell you when you're older, for now, don't go telling anyone we're getting you a flamethrower, they might get jealous." He warned, in truth, he didn't want Optimus, Prowl or Elita-1 on his aft.

Novalight nodded. "Okay sire!"

And there weren't his spark nearly imploding with pride again.

Chromia hit his chassis. "Easy, you puff like that anymore and you won't be able to fit through the door!" She exclaimed.

Ironhide huffed but allowed his chassis to return to the normal size, what was wrong with liking it when their creation called them sire?

Chromia shock her helm at her mates indignation. "Come on, we've been standing at the door long enough."

With that, the three walked out, Novalight beamed, the beginning of a new life awaited her now.

* * *

One and a half vorns later

"Ratchet? Is something wrong?" Novalight asked, the seven vorn old peering at the CMO over the lip of one of the unused medical berth.

Ratchet grumbled something as he read the read out of his scan on the mech he was looking after, glancing at Novalight from the corner of his optic.

In the vorn and a half that she'd been living on base with Ironhide and Chromia as her creators, pretty much every mech, femme and their carrier had been swept off their pedes with the little femmes sometimes sweet sometimes wild personality.

He admits, he was one of the first to fall to her wide bright blue optics and desire to know all she could.

It was why Ironhide had carried her in just before he and any other free mech and femme made their way to the battle currently raging in Polyhex, the large city was under siege from Decepticons and reinforcements had been requested.

They'd left around ten joors ago, and the small femme had been occupying herself the whole time with helping Moonracer clean the med bay, Red Alert and a few other medics had left for the battle field, any and all major injuries where sent right back here for the two top medics to deal with.

"No little Nova." 'little Nova' had become her official nickname some time ago, Novalight didn't really mind it, "I was just wondering when Cliffjumper here will stop trying to earn his designation."

"Hey! That mech was huge! We'd been given the order to retreat and that cliff was the fastest way out!" He shot back, only for Ratchet to hit him over the helm with a wrench, causing a giggle to leave Novalight.

"Shut up, some patients need to recharge." He snapped.

Novalight chuckled as she activated the thrusters hidden in her clawed pedes, allowing her land on top of the medical berth, pedes crossed underneath her as she watched the interactions between the medic and patient, her creators currently had their bond closed, she was well aware they were out fighting, but she trusted they'd come home, they'd always come home.

Ratchet continued to work for some time, every so often Novalight would point to something and ask what it was, but with the amount of times she'd done so, she was running out of things to ask about.

That is, until Mirage, one of the mechs from the special opps division, burst into the room, a look of terror on his faceplates as he quickly handed over a crying bundle to the shocked CMO. "Elita found him." Was all he said before bolting back out the door, leaving those currently conscious within the medbay in a state of confused shock.

Novalight rose to her pedes and hoped off the medical berth to give Ratchet enough room to work, seeing as it was the only berth currently not available.

Undoing the bundle, Ratchet cursed under his vent, praying that Novalight didn't hear it and later repeat it to one or both of her creators, he turned to the little femme and nudged her towards the door. "Novalight, I need you to go stay with Que okay?"

Why?! Why did he just suggest Que?! The mech would likely try and talk her into helping him with an explosive experiment!

But it was too late, as Novalight was already running out the door. "Bye bye Mr Ratchet!" She called before the door slid shut behind her.

Ratchet cursed his misjudgement, he'd go get the little femme, once he'd saved the life the four vorn old youngling on the table, his spark exposed and flickering badly from a blunt force injury to his tiny chassis.

* * *

A few joors later

"Careful, careful now little Nova, one wrong move and he-he, _boom_." Que, the head inventor of the Autobots muttered as he carefully observed Novalight fuse the two circuits together, normally, this would be a task for himself, but on this occasion, he'd found his digits too cumbersome, and it had resulted in six minor explosions.

All of which he'd had to quickly act as living shield to prevent harm from befalling the seeker youngling.

If she'd been hurt… he would never off survived her creators combined rage.

However, having Novalight actually do the welding herself… why did Ratchet send her to him again?

Why did he even except her help?

Oh right, _that_ look. The look that no mech or femme on base seemed to be able to resit, she was just too cute.

"Got it Mr Que!" Novalight chirped, pulling her servos away and placing the welding tool back in its holder.

Que let out a sigh of relief, at least, until he heard an almost ticking sound come from within the machine.

He really wanted to curse as the machine began to smoke, instead he quickly grabbed Novalight and jumped behind one of the blast shields which he'd pulled out from storage after the third explosion.

The shield shook slightly with the explosion, and it was at that moment that Ratchet and Ironhide stormed in, only to have their visions blocked by the thick plumes of smoke now filling the room, and cascading through the corridor outside.

"Nova!" Ironhide called, clear evidence of the current fear he felt for his daughter's safety.

Novalight beamed as the smoke began to clear up into the overhead vents. "Over here sire!" She called, to which Que quickly placed her down, not wanting to incite any more anger from the weapons specialist.

When Ironhide spotted his creation though, all he could make out from the ash covered frame was her still bright blue optics and the stripes of glowing blue which ran along her wings to highlight the energon cables there.

The rest of her was no longer indigo, gold and white, instead, she looked like she'd just been dumped in a pile of ash and left to roll around in.

His optics then moved to the equally ash covered inventor standing with his creation behind the blast shield, who was trying not to look guilty, instead he was focusing his attention on Ratchet. "At least we didn't lose any limbs like last time right?" He tried to joke.

Ironhide peered round the blast shield, locating the smouldering piece of technology, as well as the multitude of equally molten, concaved and scorched pieces of technology laying around on the ground.

He turned his attention towards Novalight, seeing her confused expression he realised they'd never actually warned her of working with Que, thankfully Que was right, no damaged limbs, in fact, she seemed to of been having fun nearly being blown up multiple times.

"Hey sire! Mr Que let me weld some circuits together!" She declared proudly.

And all colour left the aforementioned inventors faceplates.

Ironhide sent a brief message to Ratchet to have him escort Novalight to the femmes for them to help her clean up, whilst he had a few words with the head inventor.

Ratchet nodded. "Come on little Nova, let's get you to your aunties so they can help you get cleaned up."

Novalight pouted before exclaiming. "But I was having fun! And the explosions weren't _that_ big!"

But she still followed, not wanting to get on the CMO's bad side over something as minor as a wash.

The door to the room slid shut behind her as she followed after the medic.

They walked for a few breems in silence, until Flareup walked into the corridor from a separate one, optics instantly finding the ash covered form on the youngest femme on base. "Little Nova? What happened to you?" She asked, that childish excitement still prominent as ever as she crouched down in front of the smaller femme.

Novalight beamed. "I got to help Mr Que with one of his inventions! It blew up a few times though! But it was so much fun!" She trilled.

Ratchet could only watch in sheer horror as Flareup's faceplates pulled into that of an almost demonic smirk. "You like explosions huh?" She asked.

Novalight nodded. "Yup! They're really fun to watch!" She cheered, fist flying up into the air with her excitement.

Flareup quickly hoisted the femme youngling up, her servos resting against the sides of Novalgiht's chassis as she beamed up at the youngling. "You little Nova, are a femme after my own spark, don't worry Hatchet, I'll go clean her off, then, it's off to the demolition range!" She cheered, quickly sprinting away before Ratchet could process what she'd just said.

"FLAREUP! GET BACK HERE!" He yelled, trying to keep up with the now transformed femme as she sped away, but it was hopeless, his alt mode didn't have hover capability and thrust engine mods like Flareup did.

Ironhide was going have more than one helm to mount on his wall now, and one of them was likely to be his.

* * *

Two joors later

"Ready… and… Throw!" Flareup cheered as she helped Novalight in throwing the femmes first ever live greande, the incendiary device flying and landing just in front of the target. "And duck!" She called as the two quickly took cover as the device detonated, once certain she wasn't going to be hit by any shrapnel, Flareup jumper up, whooping with joy like she had all the times before, Novalight following the femme explosive maniac's lead and cheering as well at the new scorch mark on the ground she'd helped create.

Another string of banging came from the currently locked door, but neither femme really paid attention, seeing as Flareup had drawn a less destructive kind of grenade. "Try this one little Nova, if you like it, I'll give you more of them," She offered.

Novalight beamed, quickly pulling the safety pin out and tossing it over the wall and towards the target.

Like promised, Flareup had helped Novalight remove all the ash from her frame, she was allowed to seeing as she pretty much Novalight's crazy explosion loving aunt.

"Duck!" Novalight cheered, hiding behind the shield, this time, Flareup didn't duck in time.

Resulting in the femme gaining a new fluorescent green paint job on her upper chassis, helm and upper arms.

It was at that moment that the door finally slid open, allowing Ironhide and now Chromia to storm in, only to see both Novalight and Flareup having the time of their life cycles, the two whooping and jumping around at the colourful carnage they'd just created of the room.

Flareup may or may not off accidentally given Novalight her second most potent paint grenade, hence why every exposed surface, including Flareup herself, was covered in not only fluorescent green, but also a slew of other extremely bright colours.

"Again! Again!" Novalight cheered, jumping up and down on her pedes, revealing the very tips of her wings had been caught by the paint blast.

Neither of the two had noticed the shell shocked couple standing in the door.

Flareup beamed as she gave over her most powerful paint grenade, Novalight clearly already loved the colourful explosions they created, and who was she to say no?

Novalight very nearly hit the ceiling with her excitement as she grabbed the explosive device, almost the same size as her helm, pulled the pin and threw it.

Alas, it hadn't gone as far as she would've hoped, she and Flareup would work on her throwing strength later. "DUCK!" She cheered.

She and Flareup ducked behind the shield, whilst her creators quickly dived for the same shield from the still open doorway.

The paint grenade imploded, sending a multitude of vibrant colours, everywhere, not an exposed surface was left bare from the grenades blast range.

Meaning a good deal of it flew straight out the door and into the corridor in a torrent akin to overflowing river.

Were an incredibly shrill scream then originated from.

Attention instantly moved to Tracks, the vain mech currently dripping from helm to pede in a mixture of colours as the wet paint melded together.

"MY FINISH!" He screamed before bolting towards the mech wash racks.

Novalight and Flareup looked to one another, the seeker youngling and the youngling trapped in an adults frame looked at one another for a moment, wide smirks blooming on their faceplates before they both exploded into laughter.

Finally snapping Ironhide and Chromia out of their dazes.

Ironhide carefully peered over the shield, paint was everywhere, on every surface, and large amounts where dripping from the ceiling. And directly onto them. "Flareup…" He muttered.

Flareup grinned at the large mech, her processor on too much of a euphoria like high from the carnage she'd created/witnessed to realise the fact that the mech might as well riddle her with blaster holes for teaching his daughter how to throw a grenade before he could.

Chromia spoke first from her own shock. "How did you fit that much paint in there?!" She exclaimed, gesturing wildly to the now paint covered room, the paint on the floor now creating a shallow puddle which hid the actual floor from view.

Flareup beamed. "Oh, that hunk Wheeljack made it so I have no clue, you know he takes after his sire, gave me that as a present, and I decided to have little Nova use it as one of her first paint grenades! Imagine the carnage we could cause on the battle field if we have some of the seekers use those on the cons! They wouldn't be able to see and the entire battlefield would look a whole lot more cheery!" She explained joyously.

Neither of the pair tried to hide their disbelief.

Which was only made stronger when Novalight explained. "Can I have err… A hundred for my creation day next orn aunty Flareup?!" She trilled. "You said if I liked them I could have more!"

Chromia was quick to level the demolition expert with an ice cold gaze. "Not until aunty Flareup has finished cleaning, then we'll talk about one or two paint grenades for you to use for self-defence." She stated.

Flareup groaned. "I'll get the cleaning drone." She mumbled.

Chromia smirked. "No you won't, you're cleaning this entire room, by servo."

Flareup glared at the femme weapons specialist. "I really hate you right now." She huffed before storming out of the room to try and locate some manual cleaning tools.

Novalight peered after her aunty until she was out of sight, then turning back to her creators she muttered. "Am I in trouble now?" She asked, an adorable pout forming on her lipplates as she glanced up at them from the top of her optics.

Chromia and Ironhide didn't stand a chance against their creations expression, Chromia being the one to admit. "No Novalight, instead, we have someone I think you'd like to meet." She explained.

Instantly Novalight's demeanour did a one eighty and she was quickly bouncing up and down in front of them, wings fluttering up and down in excitement as Ironhide quickly hoisted her up so that she could wrap her arms around his neck cables and hang of his shoulders, leaving her pedes hanging loose underneath her until he tucked his arms carefully around her pedes, leaving her in an almost sitting position against his back strut. "Come on you hyper little supernova, he's in the Hatchet's medbay right now." He stated as they made their way out of the room, each of them still having drops of paint sliding down their frames as they walked.

Upon arriving in the medbay, Ironhide easily lowered his daughter back onto the ground, where she remained, watching as her carrier carefully picked up the bundle she'd seen Mirage bring in.

Chromia carefully knelt down in front of her, Ironhide doing the same and watching over his mates shoulder as he watched Chromia carefully pull the thermo blanket away from the youngling's faceplates.

Novalight came optic to optic with a youngling mech, yellow helm with black stripes and optics very nearly the same size as hers was back when she was only four vorns old.

"Novalight, I'd like you to meet Bumblebee, Elita saved him, and now, he's going to be your little brother." Chromia stated, being careful not to jostle the youngling, he was surprisingly small for his age, but what she was concerned most about was the crack in his weak armour, Ratchet had done all he could and the wound looked good as new, but he'd warned to keep him from injuring himself and causing more damage to his frame.

"Can I teach him to throw paint grenades?"

* * *

 **Well, that's one way to meet your new found sibling, oh the chaos those two (mostly Nova) are going to cause when they're older! Well, until next time!**

 **Moon**


	3. It's a bit small

**New chapter! Okay, school work=murder, too much... Anyway, err... not sure what else to say other than I hole you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 3

"Come on Bee!" Novalight cheered, the now thirteen vorn old easily dodging any random mech or femme who was trying to use the same corridor, all of them yelling at her to slow down as she shot past in her alt mode.

Funny thing was, she was going as slow as her engines actually allowed, any slower was impossible unless she purposefully wanted to stall.

Bumblebee panted as he tried to keep up, vents laboured as the nine vorn old tried to keep up, which was proving impossible with how fast his older sister was flying, the wing tips very nearly brushing the sides of the large corridor, meant to hold mechs even larger than the Prime himself with ease.

Meaning in Novalight's opinion, it was perfect for flight practice.

"Nova! Slow down!" Bumblebee called, transforming into his own newly acquired alt mode as he tried to follow the speeding jet on his own hover engines.

"Wrong Bee! You need to speed up!" She cheered, the dual oxidiser engines she'd been sparked with roaring as she hit full speed, just as the corridor opened up to reveal clear sky.

Novalight shot upwards, corkscrewing on a point, leaving a double helix of moisture behind her as an uproarious boom surrounded her, her ninth sonic boom so far, and in no way her last.

Novalight released an ecstatic cheer as she continued to fly, she was getting faster and faster with every flight, and she craved it.

Ever since she first genuinely flew, the femme seeker had been hooked, at every free moment she was nearly crashing into someone in the corridor, or doing twenty loops around the entire upper sector of Iacon in only a few breems.

She'd only been flying for a few orns, but her sheer speed was garnering her a nickname over than little Nova.

What that was she wasn't sure, seeing as she was either too busy flying, or trying to help someone on base, or even keep her younger brother from getting hurt, to really ever notice.

Yes they fought sometimes, but that was just natural between siblings, in truth, over the vorns, Novalight had come to love you younger brother to pieces, and he the same, they just preferred to show it in the form of races and play fights, the latter of which their sire greatly encouraged, much to the chagrin of their carrier.

After a few more breems, Novalight came into land.

And ended up using Jazz, a close friend of her sire, as a crash mat.

"OOFF! Primus Nova! You're getting too big for me now!" He exclaimed, after recovering from the femme seeker crashing helm on into him.

Novalight gave off a bashful laugh as she clambered off the older mech and offered her servo to him, which he took happily and allowed her to be pulled up.

His earlier statement was true though, already Novalight was two helms over the vertically challenged mech, Bumblebee still had a way to go though, so Jazz wouldn't have to worry about being labelled the shortest on base just yet. "Sorry Jazz, I'll try and use Skyfire as my crash mat next time." She joked.

Jazz just shook his helm. Novalight could be a little reckless at times, but very few on base could ever hold anything against her, well, accept for Tracks, the mech still, every now and then complained about finding traces of the paint grenade that he'd been caught in all that time ago.

But for the rest of the base, her and her younger brothers combined joy was like a vent of fresh air, and something they all needed in this seemingly never ending war against the Decepticons.

Bumblebee quickly drove up to them, transforming and glaring at his older sister. "That wasn't fair!" He exclaimed.

Novalight smirked as she pulled her younger brother into a helm lock, rubbing her fist into the top of his helm as he tried to wriggle free. "Hey! I was going as slow as I could, until the final stretch." She added at the end after catching his glower.

Arcee chuckled as she walked over. "Careful there Nova, don't need to have your little brother facing Ratchet's wrath again over a dented helm plate." She warned.

Novalight let off an overdramatic sigh as she released her younger brother from her helm lock. "Okay Aunty 'Cee." She muttered before tapping Jazz on the shoulder plate. "You're it!" She cheered before breaking into a sprint back inside the base.

Jazz chuckled as he chased after the femme seeker. "Only if you don't use your alt mode to cheat!" He retorted back.

"Using part of your own anatomy to win isn't cheating!" She yelled over her shoulder as she skidded around a startled Que, who had become something of a mentor to her when it came to technology after her first experience with exploding devices which technically weren't meant to implode.

This continued for a while, Novalight and Jazz taking it in turns to be who was it and who wasn't, and after a while, other Autobot's began joining in as well, soon enough, half the base was in uproar over who was it and who wasn't.

It became very clear who was it however when someone tagged Flareup, giving the femme the perfect reason to try her and Wheeljack's latest creation on some less than willing lab rats, heat seeking paint missiles.

And like every time before, it took the Prime getting struck in the faceplates with gold paint to freeze everyone in place.

For a change though, he didn't scold them, he even stopped Prowl before he could, before giving a statement none of them were expecting. "I hope you don't mind, but I would enjoy having some fun on my creation day now, and this seems to be the perfect excuse to ignore the mound of datawork on my desk at the moment." He stated, ignoring the glare that a currently purple and red Praxian SIC gave him.

Not five breems later, the entire base was covered, and even Tracks had been covered, much to his dismay, the mech having been found hiding in the wash racks.

Which he was quickly dragged out from and the doors to all wash racks locked tight for the time being.

Pandemonium would have been a sufficient word to describe the bases activities after that, as what once was a simple game of tag between two residents of base, had quickly escalated into a paint grenade and missile free for all of carnage, and at some point, someone found Prowl's confiscated stash of high grade.

* * *

Two cycles later

Novalight groaned as she collapsed onto her own berth, the base had been a mess after the… whatever that madhouse had been, and that meant that everyone had to pitch in to help, she herself had gone the entire time before washing all the paint splatters off, thankfully the paint used was the kind that just washed away under solvent.

No one could deny though that the paint madhouse/Prime creation day celebration, had been more fun than anyone could've hoped.

Especially when the high grade came out, now, Novalight and her brother avoided the concentrated energon like the cybonic plague, and both had sworn never to go near it after seeing an overcharged Flareup drag away a more sober Wheeljack off to her quarters, Prowl actually dancing with Jazz on the light up dance floor in the rec room when the music arrived, and… they will never be able to look at Ultra Magnus the same way again.

He had had _way_ too much.

Bumblebee chuckled as he peered into his older sisters room, being one of the only fliers, and the only one who could fly relatively safely within the confines of base, it had been her job along with the tallest mechs to clean the paint covered ceilings.

Hence why she now had a crick in her neckcables which was really beginning to slag her off, if her creators knew that she knew that word, Ratchet's helm would no longer be attached to his frame.

"Having fun becoming a piece of the furniture on the berth there?" He joked.

An incoherent mumble was his answer, along with a bundled up thermos blanket being thrown towards him, which the yellow and black Praxian youngling was easily able to dodge. "Don't you have training with carrier and aunty Flareup now?" He asked.

Novalight shook her helm, lifting her helm up so that he could actually hear her. "Nope. Got the cycle off. So I'm just going to lie here and wait for this crick to leave my neck cables." She answered before letting her helm hit the comfy berth again.

Bumblebee shrugged. "Okay… then you won't be able to get the Flamethrower sire built for you."

She was sprinting down the corridor before Bumblebee could even twitch.

* * *

Firing range

"It's kind of small." Novalight stated as she held her new weapon/toy.

Ironhide chuckled. "Sorry Novalight, but that's the largest I can give you without someone going after my helm, now when not in use, you store it in your sub-space, but when you want to use it, just think of it like that blaster I got you, aim with the scope, and pull the release trigger." He instructed as he helped his daughter hold the volatile weapon correctly.

"I thought it would be bigger…" She muttered, observing the streamlined weapon which needed one servo to hold the underside of the nozzle, while the other servo held the grip where the trigger lay.

"Well, for now, this is as big a flamethrower as I'm going to allow Novalight." Ironhide stated.

Novalight sighed before raising the weapon up to aim, pulling the trigger she watched in glee as the target was engulfed, in the bright red inferno.

Turning back to her sire she hefted the weapon onto her shoulder, faceplates split in a wide smile. "May be small, but I like it!"

* * *

Four breems later

"Aawwwww. There's nothing left to burn!" Novalight exclaimed, having realised that she'd well and truly roasted every target in the room.

Ironhide and Chromia exchanged a look, the later having come in a breem ago to witness her daughters first long range weapon which wasn't filled with paint.

"Don't worry Novalight, when you're old enough, you'll have plenty of targets to roast." Chromia stated, giving her daughter a shoulder hug.

Novalight beamed, placing the flamethrower in the subspace slot which sat between her wings. "I'm gonna roast ever con in sight carrier! I'll kick them all to the ground!" She trilled, jumping around excitedly.

Ironhide and Chromia exchanged a knowing yet worried look. Not much longer and their little Nova was going to be of age to enlist,

Whatever she'd been about to say was interrupted when Flareup came bolting into the room, a giddy smile on her faceplates as she grabbed Novalight, tucked the femme under her right arm, spun 180 degrees and bolted right back out of the room.

Leaving her creators to stand there, starring at the place their creation had previously been standing.

Chromia chuckled, tilting her helm round to look at her mate. "We should go try and find Novalight now. Before Flare goes and causes the base to burn to the ground." She joked, whilst internally praying that wasn't what was going to happen.

* * *

Que's workshop

Flareup practically leapt through the sliding door the moment it opened, Novalight still hanging like a doll under her arm as she came to a stop in front of the sire and son inventors. "Hey hunkie!" Flareup cheered, pecking Wheeljack on the cheekplate and smirking when the fins on the side of his helm lit up a bright blue.

It was funny in the femmes opinion, how such an ultimate con crushing, demolition and and destruction loving mech, could be so easily embarrassed.

And she loved it.

"Hey Flare." He greeted once he'd recovered, Que quickly made his way over to one of the desks to give his son and his new mate some privacy, Novalight following close behind seeing as Flareup had finally put her down.

"Hey Que!" Novalight greeted, jumping up onto the high spinning stool which Que had gotten her a while back so that she could watch him work, and sometimes lend her smaller and thinner servos for the more fiddly parts.

Que beamed at the small femme. "And to you too little Nova, oh! Could you possibly solder those two red wires together for me? I can 't quite reach them and I already welded the top shut." He admitted.

Novalight chuckled. "You need to be more careful Que, maybe you should write a list? You know a step by step of how to make it, then follow that." She suggested as she set to work, pulling down the welding visor she'd had added to her helm so that she could help out easier.

Que sat there, starring at the wall for a moment, before hitting the side of his helm lightly with his palm. "Why did I never think of that?!" He exclaimed.

Wheeljack and Flareup didn't even hear him, too busy working on their latest type of paint grenade, one which would spray multiple concentrated blasts in a circular motion, and once again, Novalight would be their tester, and Tracks as the unwilling lab rat.

Novalight chuckled. "Because you never slow down?" She jokingly guessed.

Que gave the femme a quick noogie. "That would be it, you little terror." He stated.

"Hey! How was _I_ supposed to know that a game of tag could evolve into something like that?!" She exclaimed.

Que chuckled. "Fair point, now then, where did Flareup kidnap you from this time?" He asked.

Flareup's 'kidnappings' had become so routine in her life now, Novalight couldn't remember a single cycle these past two vorns she hadn't done it, other than when she was on the battlefield laying waste to hundreds with her demolition expertise/license to create unending carnage.

"Firing range, sire gave me my first Flamethrower!" She cheered, she could tell these three anything, they were her confidents outside of her little brother, what was said in this lab, never left the door if it wasn't supposed to. "But don't tell Aunty Elita, Prime and Prowl okay?" She asked.

Que nodded his helm. "Of course little Nova, I trust you enough not to burn the base down with it anymore then we normally do!" He stated, a wide smile on his faceplates.

It was then that she felt something poke her, turning she found Flareup poking her subspace compartments. "I wanna see the Flamethrower!" She cheered.

Novalight very nearly fell out of her chair, had Que not been able to catch her at the moment.

Sighing she opened the subspace compartment between her wings and brought it round for Flareup to see.

It was snatched from her servos a moment later, Novalight was used to that though.

Flareup's optics where completely focused on her new weapon, analysing each of the smallest components before taking it over to her own work bench and drawing a tool Novalight had seen her use before when opening small compartments. "Err, Aunty Flare? What are you doing?" She asked.

Flareup muttured a few things under her vents before announcing. "Doesn't have a paint option."

She really did fall out of the chair that time, along with both Que and Wheeljack, all three hitting the floor in complete disbelief.

"What! It's her signature style! She must have the option on every weapon!" Flareup shot back.

Que sent a look to his son, who shook his own helm as he pulled himself back off the floor. "Here Flare, let me help, we'll get it done faster that way." He stated.

Flareup looked caught between doing it herself and letting her mate help her, deciding to go with the later in the end.

Novalight sat back on her own chair next to Que, optics darting between the elderly mechs invention, and what the bonded couple where doing to her sires gift to her.

Hopefully they wouldn't accidentally blow it up.

* * *

Three vorns later

Novalight hummed to herself as she soared over the landscape in her vehicle mode, cloak activated and engines on their quietest setting, she was in stealth mode, and rocketing over the landscape at speeds above any other.

She'd broken the Airspeed record some time ago, when she was fourteen vorns old in fact, and now, the seventeen vorn old, was a proud member of the Autobot army, as clearly shown by the insignia on either side of her top two wings, which in her vehicle mode, shone proudly on the tips of the larger hind wings of her alt mode.

She wasn't allowed to fight on the battlefield though, her expertise was first and foremost aerial support, meaning she effectively flew overhelm and shot at anything that wasn't an Autobot, thankfully she hadn't been the cause of any friendly fire yet, but her speed and agility in the air made her fairly safe, along with her cloaking capabilities.

She was an undetectable stealth fighter, and a terror to any on the other side of the conflict.

She was the silent killer off her faction, and where her creators proud of her for it.

 _"_ _Novalight, how is your scouting mission? Any threats detected?"_ Prowl enquired over the com-link.

 _"_ _No sir, no threats detected so far, about to perform a flyby of the Silverstein Gorges, if I pick anything up on my scanners, I'll alert you, why the sudden concern sir?"_ She asked, she was only ever contacted if there was an emergency somewhere which she needed to haul her aft to at double her normal speed.

 _"_ _Nothing too major, over than Kup brining in two former Kaonian Gladiators, who are currently causing a massive fight in the recroom, I have Bumblebee here with me just so you don't worry too much."_ Prowl answered.

Novalight would've pouted if she was in her bipedal form. _"Why does all the fun stuff happen when I'm not there?"_ She huffed.

She heard someone chuckle that wasn't Prowl. _"Lil' Nova, I doubt you' ever missed any real action, but if you want, you can hurry back and we'll send Airstrike to take over your patrol."_ Jazz stated.

She was going to hug him when she got back. _"Thanks Uncle Jazz! I'm on my way! I wanna punch someone!"_ She cheered, blasting her engines hard and pushing herself to her current highest speed, and slightly more, no matter how fast she went, she never seemed to find her limit.

Iacon

Novalight didn't even bother transforming, simply preferring to fly right into the base, her excitement palpable as she disabled her cloak, giving Tracks just enough time to react and duck before she shot of his helm, wing tip leaving the slightest chip on his stark white helm.

Something he did not fail to notice if the shrill scream if indignation was anything to go by.

"S'cuse me! Coming through! Woah! Careful there Skyfire! Femme on a mission here! Holy scrap! Someone fix that ceiling panel!" Where among some of the things which she often said when flying through the corridors of base.

Within astroseconds, she was having to transform, her air brakes activating on her arms and legs as she slowed down just in time for the door to open her to make a perfect landing in the middle.

Only to find that whatever fight had been happening, was already over.

And the two mechs who'd caused the situation, where currently being dragged towards the brig, the red one of the two seeming to accidentally smash his helm into the doorframe on the other side of the recroom.

The door slid shut not too long after that, causing Novalight to groan. "I didn't get to punch anyone!" She exclaimed, irritated pout forming on her faceplates.

Flareup chuckled from where she was lounging on an upturned sofa. "Don't worry Little Nova, here, catch." She stated, throwing a paint grenade towards her.

Novalight easily caught the grenade, thankful that the pin hadn't been pulled, she turned her attention back to her aunt, optic ridge raised above her helm line in questioning.

"Just in case, now, how about we go do some training practise?" She offered, hefting herself back up from her place on the sofa's upper cushions.

Novalight nodded after a moment. "Why not? Bee gonna join us?" She asked.

Flareup shook her helm. "Nah, he's getting a lesson from Prowl on how to file Data pads." She stated.

Novalight peered into her sibling bond with her younger brother.

He was already deep in recharge.

"He's out cold." Novalight chuckled, earning a snort for her aunt/older sister figure.

"Of course he is." She turned her helm in a few directions before locating her mate. "Jackie! I'm taking Little Nova to the training rooms so she can shoot something! Don't you fragging dare blow anything up without me!" She warned before throwing her arm over Novalight's shoulder plates and leading her out the way she'd come in not even two breems ago.

Novalight frowned as a thought continued to swirl around in her helm. "Who were those two?" She asked. "Prowl said over the com-link that they were former Kaonian Gladiators, but nothing else." She admitted.

Flareup shrugged. "Not all that sure myself, apparently the gold one took something Mirage said the wrong way and basically began beating the scrap out of the poor mech."

Novalight nodded, having spotted Moonracer checking over the mech, he too had a cloaking device, and was a good friend of hers, well, as close as her sire would allow, Mirage was well known for being a charmer of sparks, and her creators were adamant in making sure the mech didn't influence their oldest creation too much.

They already had the demolition squad for that.

Flareup poked her cheekplate, bringing the femme seeker from her trance. "Oh good, was afraid you'd gone processor offline there!" Flareup joked.

Novalight chuckled. "With the amount of explosions you've been the epicentre of, one would believe that was you!" She retorted back, before elbowing the larger femme in the abdomen.

Flareup smirked, before pouncing on the femme seeker, sending the two tumbling through the corridor in a ball of limbs and laughter.

And by some miracle, rolled right into the firing range, where the two rose again, dusted themselves off, and drew their favourite weapons.

For Novalight, it was her heavily upgraded paint/flamethrower, the weapon having long since grown to the equivalent of half the femmes height, and with the use of a material that Que had made by accident, he was prone to doing that at least once a deca cycle, and Nova often reaped the rewards of it in the form of upgrades to her arsenal, weighed only an eighth of her own mass, making it easy to wield and fire.

Flareup's own was a medium sized Ion cannon, which could detach and reform into a high bowered bow, the arrows forming when the elastic and insulating cable was drawn back.

"Ready?" Flareup enquired.

Novalight smirked, switching her weapon to its third function, a high powered cannon her sire had added. "When ain't I?" She smirked, watching from the corner of her optic as Flareup programmed in their favourite simulation.

"Overcharged Blitzwing?" She joked.

"Is there any other con who can be so had to hit and not laugh at, at the same time?" Novalight stated.

Flareup shrugged. "Fair enough. EAT SLAG YAH GLITCH HOUND!" She yelled as she opened fire on the multiple projections, all of which were of the insane triple changer Decepticon Blitzwing.

Novalight howled as she unleashed a stored blast from her cannon, which she had taken from her subspace, the massive weapon having been a gift from her creators on her last creation day, or really adoption day, the massive energy sphere pulsated and hummed as it decimated a large portion of the encroaching holograms. "EAT PLASMA!" She cheered.

* * *

Brig

Sideswipe huffed as another loud explosion echoed from above their cell, followed by excited howls and laughs.

Really? They thought they were unhinged? Did they not hear what was going up above?

Sunstreaker scowled, for once turning his attention away from the dent on his shoulder. "They're certainly loud." He grumbled.

Sideswipe chuckled. "Be interesting to get to know them though, they certainly know how to have some fun."

An even louder explosion occurred just after, causing the ceiling to shake slightly. Making the red twin to chuckle as even louder cheers followed. "Wonder when we'll be allowed out to meet them." He smirked.

The Brig's entrance door opened then, revealing Cliffjumper, who was whistling an odd and off key tune as he walked down to their cell, not even flinching as another explosion rocked the corridor.

Seeing this has his chance Sideswipe called out. "Hey mech!"

"Yep?" Cliffjumper responded, his tone carefree.

"Who the frags making all that noise?" He asked, gesturing to the ceiling above their cell.

Cliffjumper shuttered his optics a few times, before another explosion occurred, cluing the mech into what the red twin meant. "OH! That! That would be Little Nova and her aunt Flareup, Nova was disappoint when she returned back from patrol, just in time to see you dragged off, she flew all the way from the Silverstein Gorges so that she could help in beating the slag out of you two, and now her and her aunt are having fun blowing holograms up the training room, Little Nova and Flareup are basically the most destructive femmes on base, they've been doing this for vorns, guess everyone else is used to the base shaking like this now." He answered, the smile never quite leaving his faceplates like the twins hoped.

Sideswipe shuttered his own optics then. "You mean, that purple femme who flew through the door?" He enquired.

Cliffjumper nodded. "That'd be the rascal! She's the fastest member of the Army, and, has a killer shot." He answered.

"Oh, and you'll be down here for a few more cycles, who knows, Little Nova might even come down to visit!" He called before striding away, whistling that happy tune once again.

The twins glanced at one another, the femme certainly sounded interesting. As if to agree with them, the ceiling shook once more.

"Wait… aren't the Silverstein gorges on like, the other side of Polyhex?"

"Yeah… and we were only fighting maybe half a joor?"

"That's fast."

* * *

 **Yes, it is fast, and she'll likely only get faster, twins have finally arrived everyone! And Nova's not so sweet anymore... next few chapters will be quite interesting, I assure you, there's a lot coming, from tar, to scraplets, oh boy. I should probably mention that this will likely be a slight AU, before going full on AU later, but for now, see yah!  
**

 **Moon**


	4. Unorthodox methods

**It begins! Oh I had so much fun writing this one! Sorry about the delay, but mock exams where a pain in the ass to me, and have drained me quite heavily, but, I am soldiering on thank Primus, now then... yeah I just loved writing that, anyway, Novalight belongs to me and Lunarburst23 due to her being the secondary idea producer, well then, on with the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 4

Novalight hummed as she strolled down one of the corridors of the base, planning to go for a relaxing flight, having just left the training room a few breems before, having grown tired of decimating hordes of overcharged Blitzwing's, she couldn't stop the giggle as she remembered how one of the holograms had simply flopped faceplates first on the ground and waved its partially see through limbs around as if trying to get back up, whilst having little to no coordination.

However, she found herself stopping in front of the entrance of the Brig, she was still curious about the twin gladiators, maybe they'd be interesting to talk to.

Deciding there was no harm in talking, she strode into the Brig, easily spotting the only in use cell.

There was also the fact that one of them looked to of been injured as he was carried away, something she'd thought about as she'd done target practise with her aunt.

Novalight peered into the brig from the doorway, it was surprisingly quiet, unlike the noise the only current residents had caused when they were brought in if what her younger brother had told her was anything to go by.

It took her less than a breem to reach the only in use holding cell, when she did she came optic to optic with the red mech, the gold one seemed engrossed in scowling down at a dent in his arm.

"Hey Sunny! We got a visitor!" The red one chirped.

Novalight felt one of her optic ridges move higher up her faceplates towards her helm.

"Don't call me that you aft!" The gold one snapped. "And I heard, what do you want femme?" He growled out.

A frown crept onto her faceplates, making a mental note to be weary of the gold one. "I came to see if you need help, you looked to of hit your helm quite hard back there, and, I'm bored, you can only shoot so many fake drunk Blitzwings every cycle." She answered, looking to the red one, who snorted at her last statement.

The red one continued to chuckle. "Don't worry Princess, we've been through way worse than a sew dents." He stated, a wry smirk on his faceplates.

Novalight shrugged. "If you say so, oh and, don't call me Princess." She huffed before making her way to the entrance, having decided she'd go try and find one of her aunts to talk to.

"Whatever you say, Duchess." The red one called after her, voice dropping to a purr.

Novalight didn't show that it got to her, instead, she spun, drew one of her grenades which Flareup had given her, pulled the pin, and threw it towards the two mechs cell.

She was already at the entrance, when the startled cries of the two mechs reached her, having realised what had been thrown at them, a clambering/crashing sound was heard as they likely tried to get away from the device, only to find they had nowhere to go.

The door to the brig slid shut behind her, just as the grenade released its contents.

A completely horrified yet muffled scream came from behind her, a smirk pulled upon her lipplates as she sashayed along the corridor.

Cliffjumper was heading in the opposite direction, two energon cubes held in one servo, at the seeker femmes smirking faceplates though, his pedes halting in their movement after a few moments. "Should I be worrying for the safety of the base at the moment little Nova?" He enquired, one optics ridge raised in speculation.

Novalight shrugged. "Depends, as long as you don't call me a title of nobility, you should be fine." She tried to assure.

The optic ridge climbed up higher. "My tanks are suddenly warning me not to go down there." He said, gesturing with his horned helm at the brig door.

A sweet smile bloomed on Novalight's faceplates. "Don't worry about it then Cliff, I'll take um." She offered, easily taking the two cubes from the smaller mechs servo, spinning on the back of her clawed pede and made her way back towards the brig door.

The door slid open, causing the smug smirk to return to her features, as her optics took in the mass of brown, lime green and glow in the dark orange carnage she'd created.

Activating her pede thrusters, she hovered over to the only in use cell, finding the two mechs where still frozen in the positions they'd been in when the grenade had detonated, in other words trapped in positions of complete horror as they tried to shield themselves with the others frame, once she'd pushed the cubes under the gap left by the lowest bar she righted herself and placed one servo on her hipplate.

They didn't seem likely to go anywhere anytime soon.

So, she hovered back over to the entrance, before she stepped through however, she looked over her shoulder plate with a smug smile still in place and declared. "My designation is Novalight, and don't you forget it, cause I'll do a lot worse than screw up your paint if you call me something like that again."

The door slid shut behind her, and Novalight walked away, planning to join her younger brother in the training hall before going on another high speed patrol.

* * *

Brig

Sideswipe was the first to move, helm slowly tilting down to take in his paint splattered form.

"Sunny." A wild grin bloomed on his faceplates. "I think I'm in love."

At his twins statement, Sunstreaker took in his own and his twins appearance, after whacking his twin upside the helm that is. "That femme's going to pay for this." He grumbled.

"Prank war?" Sideswipe chirped hopefully as he began trying to get as much of the already drying paint off his frame.

"Prank war."

* * *

A few cycles later

Novalight stood to attention as Optimus accepted the twin mechs into the army, they would be fighting on the frontlines primarily, meaning that Novalight now had two more she had to watch out for when flying overhead, but, she was never one to back down from a challenge of not causing friendly fire… by accident.

Flareup nudged her side with her elbow joint. "You certainly made an impression on those two." She half joked.

Novalight shrugged. "He shouldn't of tried to annoy me." She answered back.

Flareup smirked. "You're taking after me and your carrier more and more every cycle, no more clingy little youngling who'd get spooked at a Glitch Mouse."

Novalight frowned. "I'm not afraid of Glitch mice, and I never was, that's sire, and he's still terrified of those things."

Flareup didn't seem to be paying attention instead she had focused her intention on the twins. "I swear by the name of my Hunkie, that red one, Sideswipe I think, was staring at you. Huh, didn't you paint bomb them or something a few cycles ago?" She enquired.

Novalight frowned as she regarded her aunt. "I told you about that like five breems after I did it, and we were just talking about it! Aunty Flareup, you officially have the storage capacity of a neo fish."

Flareup just grinned and responded with. "And proud of it!" She cheered, throwing a fist in the air and very nearly clubbing Springer in the shoulder plate.

Novalight huffed as she smacked her aunts shoulder good naturedly. "I do not know how we're all still online with you here." She remarked.

Deciding to make her exit, she activated her cloak, allowing her form to shift into invisibility, leaving Flareup to frown as she felt her niece fly by, having activated her silent boosters so that she wouldn't make a sound as she left.

"Actually, I don't know." Flareup pondered, before instead turning her attention to her mate, quickly sneaking behind him and leaping onto his back strut, wrapping her pedes around his waist and arms around his neck cables, causing him to stumble slightly before righting himself and chuckling.

"Nova ditch you?" He enquired.

Flareup smirked as she placed a peck on his cheekplate. "You know me too well Hunkie, I'm bored, got any method of curing that?" She enquired, shifting slightly between her mechs winglets, knowing exactly how sensitive they are.

A low growl left her mech. "I have a good idea of one sure-fire method."

"Does it involve explosions?" She taunted.

"Depends on how you imagine the treatment will go." He responded back, reaching round and pulling his mate off him so that he could hold her to his chassis. "Shall we?" He enquired, smirk playing upon his scarred faceplates.

Flareup giggled, stroking one of the scars which ran over both of his lipplates. "As long as you don't mind a bit of 'collateral damage'."

Overhaul groaned from where he was standing next to them. "Either leave and frag, or shut up and watch, Prime's almost done." He growled.

Flareup tilted her helm back so that she was looking at the mech upside down, with Wheeljack holding her against him at the waist to support her position. "You're just jealous that you can't join in, pervy bot~." She taunted.

Overhaul stuttered for a moment before turning away from the couple and crossing his arms over his chassis.

Wheeljack let off a chuckle, leaning over his mate and pressing her against him. "Awww… Poor Overhaul, guess you'll just have to wait for that femme who's got malfunctioning olfactory sensors to sweep you off your pedes and carry you to the nearest flat surface, yah animal, come love, let's get that treatment underway." With that said he quickly lead her mate away, who was on the verge of howling like a cyber-wolf as Overhaul yelled profanities after their retreating forms.

The shouting of course, drew a good bit of attention, most ended up laughing upon realising that two of the resident demolition experts had riled up Overhaul into a rage.

Sideswipe however, was using the distraction to look for their target, Novalight, he was looking forward to pranking her, and from the info he and his twin had gained from a mech called Tracks, painting her a different colour wouldn't work, seeing as the femme cared as much for her paint as she did a con, and was it not for her aunts, she'd be walking around in every colour known to Cybertronian kind, in a decretive paint splatter.

Something that apparently did get to her, was when someone messed with her 'toys' aka her arsenal, apparently having two weapons specialists for creators left the femme more decked out then most battle transports, something they'd also have to be weary of.

However, upon realising the femme in question was no longer present, he sent an enquiring nudge over the bond to ask if she'd seen her go, which he responded to with a peeved of 'no'.

Sideswipe grumbled, he was well aware that they'd have to get creative with their pranks when it came to getting back at this femme, but he welcomed the challenge with open arms.

One thing was for certain though, they were going to have fun.

* * *

A few cycles later

"SUNSTREAKER! SIDESWIPE!"

Mechs and femmes alike leapt to the sides of the corridor as Novalight barrelled past, a look of absolute murder on the normally cheery faceplates as her streamlined form rocketed past, thrusters roaring almost as loud as the volume her vocalisers where putting out.

It didn't take long to realise what had happened when Bumblebee shot after her, the normally yellow and black mech sporting pale pink and blue paint splatters instead, some droplets still flying off the back of him.

Said twins where sitting on a small table in the rec room when the femme seekers screeches reached them, the others in the rec room giving them confused or irritated scowls, internally however, the twins felt a smug sense of pride build over the fact that they'd succeeded in ticking off the tri-coloured femme, their plan not to target the femme directly had worked, seeing as her younger brother was paint sensitive.

They were not expecting however, for the femme to _fly_ through the open door.

And within seconds knock Sunstreaker to the ground, right off the back of his chair, with a vicious right hook, the mech sliding a good distance, and knocked into stasis.

"What the holy Pit?!" Sideswipe cried, only to have a chair slam harshly against the side of his helm, knocking him into stasis right next to his twin.

Novalight huffed as she regarded the two unconscious trouble makers, before turning her attention to her younger brother, who was still holding the chair above his helm ready to strike which ever stasis locked mech twitched first.

After a solid breem without either moving, he finally lowered the chair to the ground leaning on the back rest as he regarded the two unconscious mechs with distaste. Novalight gave him a warm smile and patted him on the shoulder, transferring blue and pink paint onto her servo, not that she cared. "Go get cleaned up, then meet me at the tar gorges in two joors, I'll deal with these two slag helms." She reassured.

Bumblebee gave her an incredulous look, there was no way his sister could drag both of those mechs, she was built for incredible bursts of prolonged speed, not dragging unconscious mechs with brute strength she did not have.

Novalight waved him off. "I commed Aunty Flare on my way over here, she and carrier are coming to help me deal with these afts. We'll be fine." She reassured.

Bumblebee didn't verbally respond, only gave her a slightly irritated glare over being told what to do by his older sister, before turning and walking out of the recroom.

By this point, everybot had gone back to what they were doing previously, seeing as the twin mechs hadn't put up a fight, most however, wished the youngest members of the base hadn't been so efficient.

Would've given them another excuse to act like younglings on energon candy highs and trash the base again.

But, that was not what had happened.

Didn't mean that some weren't going to go and watch whatever was soon to go down at the Tar gorges east of the base.

* * *

Two joors later

Sideswipe groaned as he came too, feeling like his helm had a party going on within that wasn't meant to be there.

The wind howled past his sensitive audio horns, strange, last he remembered he was enjoying some down time in the rec room with his twin, waiting for their prank to be sprung.

Wait… why was something wrapped around his hipplates?

Groggily tilting his helm up, he locked optics with the femme seeker, Novalight, the one who'd set off that paint grenade in their cell, why was she holding him like that? Not that he minded, yes she was a pretty fem, and she was holding him snuggly against her.

It was then that things began to click in place, as the sounds of thrusters reached his audios, why hadn't heard them earlier? His pedes dangling beneath him along with his arms, and the wind howling around them.

That was when he realised, _where_ he was.

A long, long way up.

"HOLY PRIMUS!" He all but screamed, arms flailing in a fruitless attempt to grab anything stable, but even the femme was out of reach due to the way she was holding him, hovering in the air with the upper part of her frame bent over so that his own pedes where dangling lower than hers where, the powerful thrusters keeping both in the air.

And those thrusters suddenly got a whole lot more powerful.

For a moment later, they were rocketing upwards, far, far too high for his preference.

"SUNNY!" He screamed as they rocketed upwards, missing the golden and black speck down at ground level, sprawled out on the floor, instantly he began pumping as much of the terror he was feeling into his twin via their bond, trying to locate his twin.

But there would've been very little he could do outside of shooting the femme holding him, and that would not have the desired effect he was hoping for, a nice safe landing.

Finally, they came to a gradual stop, he wasn't even sure if seekers flew this high! He could see Praxus, Metroplex and Iacon from this height!

Finally the femme spoke. "This is why you don't prank my little brother, leave him outta this, if you want a prank war, then don't lose focus on the enemy."

"Wait! I take it back! I'm sorry I set up that prank! I didn't…..YYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! HHHHOOOOOLLLLLLYYYYY FFFFRRRRRAAAAGGGGG!"

She'd let go.

To put it simply, Sideswipe screamed bloody murder as he plummeted towards what he now realised, was a whole lot of jagged steel.

The femme was seriously trying and succeeding in her attempt to offline him! Did she really not understand the concept of pranks?!

Clearly not!

In his sheer terror, he didn't hear the sounds of thrusters, which in turn lead to a tricolour blur practically crashing into him, arms wrapping around his middle and jerking him off his falling trajectory, just in time for the jagged metal to pass by harmlessly, a single spike just grazing the right side of his chassis.

In half a sparkbeat, he flipped in the air in a sharp upwards loop, a high pitch 'YAH!' later and he was skimming over something black and sticky, which after three skips, had become so attached to his frame, it dragged him into the inky blackness.

He sank for a few minutes before something hooked onto his middle, he thought he could hear grunting, but the black stuff had partially gummed up his audios so he wasn't all that sure.

Slowly he was pulled out of the sticky stuff, the thick black tendrils fighting against whatever was on his middle as he stared down at the tar pit.

Tar…

HE'D BEEN DUNKED IN FRAGGING **_TAR_**?!

The thing around his middle came loose, leaving him to crash onto solid ground faceplates first, something which he tried to embrace, only to find his motions slowed by the tar still attached to his frame, he could barely move…

That didn't mean he couldn't swear to Primus he'd ever leave the ground again!

He didn't even realise that he blacked out.

When the red mech next came to, it was within what he assumed to be the Autobot Med-bay with a blue mech cleaning on of his pieces of shoulder armour. "What? Where am I? What happened? SUNNY! Where's my twin!?" He yelled, bolting upright and shaking the surprised mech, who he now realised was a medic, shoulder plate.

The mech huffed. "Over there?" He grumbled, pointing over his shoulder at where his twin was lying ramrod straight, faceplates twisted in a frozen scream, optics wide armour also partially covered in tar. "And what happened? You pranked Novalight's little brother, pissing the femme off, which alone is a death wish, she knocked your twin out with a right hook, whilst you were on the receiving end of a chair, then, she dropped you from 4.5 klicks straight up, caught you, then flung you into the Iaconian tar pits, where a group of rescue bots pulled you out. Then your stasis locked frames where brought here to be cleaned, that twin of yours, hasn't even twitched once." He explained.

Sideswipe felt the side of her mouth plate twist up, that femme, really knew how to prank, he genuinely thought she was trying to offline him! Best scare prank ever!

His twin not complaining about his paint job was also a bonus.

The door to his left slid open, and a now all too familiar frame strode through. "Jolt! I got those medical grade energon cubes from storage like you asked!" Novalight exclaimed, thrusters keeping her in the air as she hovered over, two cubes in each servo, and another three tied around her hipplates.

Her entrance also seemed to have an affect on his twin. "YOU! You owe me a new paint job femme!" He yelled, bursting into movement, only to be held down by Ratchet.

Novalight looked at him from the corner of her optic, smirk pulling at her features. "I don't owe you nothing Sunshine, and I was getting you back for pranking my little brother, so, we're even."

"You set of a paint grenade in the holding cell we were being kept in!" He shot back, trying to get off the berth, only to be magnetised to it for his struggles. "Hey! The frag medic!?"

Novalight chuckled behind her servo, passing the seven cubes over to jolt. "Sunshine, either get the pole lodged out you aft out, or, sit there and sulk like the little sparkling you are. You're choice!" She chirped, bouncing over to Ratchet. "Hey uncle Ratchet!

Ratchet smiled at the bubbly seeker femme, not even needing to hear her ask the unspoken question, which resulted in his favourite wrench moving into her clawed servos.

He just stood back, watching as a demonic aura surrounded the femme. Who, with a harsh strike, knocked a substantial dent directly into the metal adjacent to the gold mechs left audio fin. "Oh and I'm going to make something very clear, just in case you forgot, my designation is _NOVALIGHT_!" She yelled, before reaching over without looking, picking up a cube of med grade energon, and splashing it into his faceplates. "Enjoy your stay with uncle Ratchet! Uncle! Tell carrier I'm going to visit granduncle Que!" With that, she activated her thrusters and raced out the door again.

Sideswipe's face had long since morphed into a lopsided smirk. "Sunny, why I think I truly am in love!"

Jolt gave the red mech an odd look, looking over to Ratchet and enquired. "I think this mech is defective."

Ratchet shrugged. "For all we know, he was dropped on his helm as a sparkling."

Sideswipe ignored the two, glancing over at his twin. "Sunny, I really think I like her!" He chirped.

Sunstreaker groaned, now that he was no longer magnetised to the berth, he allowed his helm to raise off it, before slamming it back down again. "Yeah? Well I hate her, she owes me a new paint job." He grumbled.

Jolt snorted. "Good luck with that! Last I checked! They had to pin her down to give her a recoat!"

Sunstreaker gave him an odd look. "And you said my twin was dropped on his helm as a sparkling." He grumbled.

Jolt shrugged. "She was pushed out of a collapsing skyscraper as a youngling, in the middle of the final battle for Crystal city. Oh well."

Sideswipe decided to ignore his twin and pretty much everything else, instead trying to figure out ways of getting the femme to talk to him, with Sunstreaker shooting him bouts of irritation over their bond, as well as there suddenly being an argument between the two medics over what information is 'private' and what isn't.

* * *

Fifteen breems of aimlessly hovering through the base later

Novalight hummed as she passed an intersection, turning left through the unlocked door just after the intersection.

Only to quickly dive behind a blast shield right next to the door as Que yelled. "TAKE COVER!"

Followed by a significant explosion.

"Whoo! Que! What you put in that thing?!" Novalight cheered as she practically vaulted over the top of the blast shield so she could examine the large hole in the middle of one of the mechs work benches.

Que chuckled as he rubbed the back of his helm. "Just a new concoction Nova, which I accidentally mass produced, and I wanted to find out what it could be used for, apparently destroying stuff meant to be blast proof… oh boy."

Novalight's helm snapped up to stare at him. "Mass produced?"

"Yup." He responded, not seeing where this was going.

"I want some, no, _need_ some! This would be perfect for my grenade launcher! You must have tons of the stuff knowing you! I'll take a crate!"

Que paled, realising that maybe he said too much, but, she was already in the storage room behind the labs, sniffing through the crates.

"Found um! Wow Que! Seventy four crates?! Mech we need to get you a hobby! Not! I'll take five!" She always did have a knack for knowing which where the newest batches just from how fresh the chemicals where, he blamed his son and his mate.

She was out the door carrying said five crates before he could even stop her, her yelling. "If they're unstable I'll be careful! Whoa! Watch it Sunshine, you too Sidsap! Yah want yah aft blown to kingdom come or something! By Que!"

Sunstreaker peered through the door at the smoking remains, Sideswipe's helm appearing just underneath. Starring at the elder inventor in concern. "What was in those things?" Sunstreaker enquired.

Que chuckled, nervously shuffling his pedes. "A new high explosive I made on mass by accident? Seventeen micro cubes caused that." He pointed at the table. "And she's just taken five full… cubes… Ah, it's Nova, she may seem insane to most, but she's actually the sanest of the demo crew! She knows how to handle her high explosives."

The twins exchanged glances, the same smirk playing at Sideswipe's faceplates. "I swear, could this femme become any more unorthodoxly perfect?"

Sunstreaker just whacked his twin over the helm in response.

* * *

 **The prank war has begun! Oh joy! I should make this clear, Nova, and myself, are huge fans of scare pranks, not embarrassment orientated pranks like the twins, laughing at others joy is mine and hers bread and butter, I've watched waaaayyyyy to many fail videos, well then, until next time!**

 **Moon+Lunar**


	5. A prank worthy of a horror vid

**Decided to put this out early, still working on the latest chapter. Also, I'd like to point something out for those who haven't figured it out, Nova takes things a little bit beyond out of proportion. Also, if anyone wants to see what she looks like, I posted a pic of her on Deviantart which is a whole lot better than the one I use for this stories tab, my account over there is Moonlightdeer739 for anyone curious. Well, with the announcements out of the way, hope you all enjoy! Nova belongs to me and Lunarburst 21, and this is a request story from the aforementioned Author. Well, on with the chapter! I have no regrets writing this!**

* * *

Chapter 5

"Oh Primus."

"Somebot's gonna lose their pedes in a kilk."

"50 credits she's gonna go ballistic."

"I ani't making a bet that one sided."

"Sweety, we'll get this to Flareup and Wheeljack, they'll fix up Spitter in a giffy." Chromia soothed and she carefully took the mangled flamethrower from her daughter's loose grip.

She'd been sitting there for three joors, in the training room, where she'd left her precious weapon so that she could quickly check on Bumblebee.

She returned to find a now sick green, mangled, Spitter, her prized and most upgraded weapon.

Novalight rose only a few moments after her carrier took the weapon from their grasp.

Instead of going on the psychopathic rampage she was expected to, she instead turned to her carrier, a look of smug calculation written over her features.

"Carrier? It's official." An oddly sick smirk grew on her features at that. "This… means… war." Her voice holding an odd twinge of madness within it.

Chromia stared at her oldest creation, an odd sense of concern mixed with curiosity as her daughter stepped past her, Novalight was now slightly larger than her carrier, her wings making her overall height even higher.

The crowd which had formed quickly parted, none of them wanting to cross the seeker femme as she strode past.

Chromia glanced over to Leadfoot, a Wrecker who was staying at the base for the time being after a serious injury so he could recover. "I think whoever did this is going to lose more than their pedes." She murmered, sending a warning to her mate and son that Novalight was a little gone unhinged at the moment.

* * *

Two cycles later

Sideswipe huffed as he strode down a corridor with his twin, he'd so wanted to see Novalight's reaction to him and his twin messing with her favourite weapon, she'd been on their afts moments after the prank on her brother, yet she'd not even twitched at them whenever she passed in the corridors!

Either that Tracks mech had given them faulty info, or the femmes processor wasn't as predictable and previously believed.

Something brushed against his shoulderplate.

Jolting with a silent yelp, he turned to try and see who'd brushed him, before turning to his twin on his other side, who was giving him an odd look.

(Something just brushed me!) Sideswipe claimed, rubbing the place on his shoulder plate.

Sunstreaker rolled his optics. (Yeah right, you were just imagining it, what… don't tell me you're afraid that fem glitch is gonna try with us again? You scared of a little seeker fem?) He taunted.

Sideswipe huffed. (That ain't it and you know it!)

Sunstreaker rolled his optics before continuing to walk on.

(Hey! Don't just walk off!) He called, running after his twin, at least, until he felt something slide down the side of his abdomen, causing him to yelp and jolt again. (SUNNY! Something touched me again!)

Sunstreaker turned to glare at his twin. "Sides, quit acting like a sparkling would you?! Nothing…. is… touching… you…. Something just brushed my aft." He murmured.

Sideswipe froze in place, as did his twin as they looked around the otherwise abandoned corridor.

Sunstreaker felt something press against his backstrut, a light weight falling against him, as something freezing cold came into contact with the surface, causing him to lock up, just as the weight pressed more against him, he swore the ceiling lights were beginning to flicker, before they went out completely, plunging them into darkness, with the only light being a faint glow flowing out from behind him, that alone made him freeze up more as the feelings of absolute fear from his twin, who could clearly see what was behind him.

The cold feeling climbed further up his rigid frame before it was against his audio fin.

 _"_ _Is that you love?"_ The voice was raspy, cracked and barely there, but the words were clearly audible as the cold begin moving around his side with a certain angle to it heading more towards his abdomen.

The words 'OH FRAG NO!' Flashed across his vision for a single moment before he bolted, the cold feeling leaving his as he only just managed to grab his twins wrist in the dark, spinning the red mech and dragging him behind him as his own wheels squealed to gain traction on the surface, he would contemplate later how he was going so fast, if they got away from whatever that was which was currently causing the lights to flicker erratically, causing his own optics to struggle and shutter in the quickly varying brightness.

A chilling scream came from behind, turning his helm only slightly, he felt his optics very nearly fly out of his helm, and spark promptly stop out of sheer _terror_ , at the Praxian femme, _floating_ in all her _see through_ glory, optics missing and replaced with pitch black holes, dried trails of lubricant leaving crack like trails down her frame, lower mouthplate hanging loose with only one or two cables holding it in place, and her neck cable clearly broken as her helm resting against her shoulder plate, the spinal strut poking through a large wound in the neck cables surface.

Her whole frame looked deformed and broken as it lifted a single servo at them, digit pointing at them as the unnatural screech left the frame, and from around it, tendrils of black burst free and sped towards them, the ends opening to reveal large circular saws.

Sideswipe screamed full out bloody murder as he wrapped his own servo around his twin, who'd been somehow dragging his whole frame behind him without the red twin even touching the floor, after seeing the tendrils coming, he slammed his own wheeled pedes down and pushed them as fast as he could go, actually dragging Sunstreaker behind them as they both shot round a corner.

Within moments they ended up in the recroom, which had at the most ten bots in, who all turned to stare at the twin in confusion as their speed resulted in them crashing into an unoccupied sofa and sending them and the furniture crashing along the ground.

With a groan Sideswipe pushed himself up into a crouching position, looking around at the now laughing mechs and femmes. "THERE'S A FRAGGING DEMON FEMME BACK THERE!" He screamed, before ducking down and hugging his twin for dear life.

Arcee howled with laughter along with every other bot in the room, before whipping a trail of lubricant off her cheekplate. "Oh! That's just the ghost of the fourth tower!"

Sunstreaker's helm snapped up. "How are you so relaxed about this?!" He growled.

Arcee snorted before tapping Flareup on the shoulder plate, the femme was still howling, and had very nearly fallen off her seat a few times from how hard she was laughing. "Flare! You tell it better!"

Flareup smirked as she righted herself laughter disappearing so quickly and instead, an almost demonic look took over the femme. "With pleasure 'Cee."

The twins exchanged a fearful glance as they slowly righted the sofa and sat upon it at the femmes gesture. "Before the war, and during about the mid stage of the Golden age, there lived a noble fem, a Praxian in build, designation Shimmerlight, she was a stunning thing, known planet wide for her beauty, and it was on one cycle, that she met the love of her spark, the mech had saved her from being assaulted, and alas, he was a simple commoner, as many know though, love knows no bounds, and Shimmerlight went against her creators disapproval for the mech, and, became sparked with his creation, her creators were infuriated, having just signed an agreement against her wishes to marry her off. Shimmerlight, in her distress, ran to her love…" She held her words, watching the two's reaction.

Sideswipe leaned forwards. "Then what happened?"

Flareup gained a sorrowful look. "She returned to the offlined frames of her love and his entire unit, who belonged to one of the lowest casts, Shimmerlight was horrified, especially when her creators revealed that, part of the deal of her arranged engagement, was for the one she would be forced to bond with, was to murder her true mate, and his family, had been collateral."

The twins exchanged shocked glances, feeling dread pool within their tanks. Sunstreaker being the one to ask. "What did she do?"

Flareup shook her helm. "She ran, she came to this building, climbed to the fourth tower, and jumped into the large crack which has since been filled in to prevent such suicides. Her frame was recovered, along with her sparkling, still within her chamber. They were buried together with the sire and the rest of his family unit here in the grounds, Shimmerlight has since roamed the corridors, calling to her deceased lover, which it seems, even now, she cannot reach. Every so often she leaves her tower, whenever new mechs come in, and tries to see if they are the mech she lost. If not, she leaves you be, but if you flee, like I assume you have, she'll… well… offline you." The smirk on her features was unavoidable, oh how much she loved scaring mechs senseless.

The twins gulped in unison.

A cold feeling passed across the back of Sideswipe's neckcables.

With a startled scream the red mech leaped high into the air.

Flareup smirked. "Why Shimmer! These two run from you?" She enquired to the ghostly apparition.

 _"_ _Yes."_ Was the rasped response _._

Flareup shook her helm before gazing around at the other bots in the room. "Well, those two are _fragged_." She declared, placing emphasis on that fact by gesturing to the two mechs now shaking so hard, their armour was banging into one another.

They were gone before anyone could even shutter their optics.

Shimmerlight glared at the two, before floating after them at an incredibly speed, right through the still open door.

* * *

Three cycles later

Sideswipe groaned as he slid down against the wall of a corridor, there were a few bots milling up and down, they'd been running around for the last three cycles, barely getting any recharge, with one always on guard whilst the other one rested so lightly, a single shift from the guard would have them jolting out of recharge, they'd barely refuelled as well.

Shimmerlight however, never seemed to tire, always being just around a corner, waiting to strike, since the event in the recroom, she'd chased them, coming close on multiple attempts, leaving them shaken.

It was currently quite early in the cycle, and as he sat there, with Sunstreaker standing, leaning against the wall next to him trying to catch his vents, Novalight walked over, two energon cubes in servo. "You mechs look a mess. Here." She spoke, handing the two cubes over to them.

They quickly accepted, chugging the blue liquid as fast as they could, and in their haste, not seeing the smirk playing at the femme seekers faceplates, which was quickly masked behind concern once they finished.

Sideswipe sighed. "How much longer are we gonna have to run?" It wasn't easy, seeing as whenever they tried to exit the large base, Shimmerlight would appear, and send them packing right back in the opposite direction.

Novalight shrugged. "No mech who's run ever lived this long, you're holding the record at the moment… hey, you don't look so great." She declared, moving to place a servo on Sunstreakers forehelm, he was too tired to even bat it away though, grogginess suddenly plaguing him even more then before.

The twins groaned in unison, feeling their frames growing heavy and their optics straining to stay online as the smirk on the tricolour seeker grew back into place, raising her servo up to the side of her helm she spoke. "Move in." She spoke just as the two slid down, Sunstreaker crashing down on top of Sideswipe and leaving the two strewn out across the corridor at Novalight's pedes. "Let's get this show on the road Bots."

* * *

Sometime later

Novalight practically purred from where she was perched like a neo feline, her own personal ledge built into the interrogation room so that she could watch the proceedings of interrogations which she was allowed to take part in.

A few orns ago, they'd had a con prisoner, who'd been anything but co-operative, somebot, she couldn't remember who, suggested they sick her on them.

Her creators had of course objected, but, Novalight had gone through with it anyway, and, she had the ledge installed at her own suggestion.

From there, she'd sat, with the mech in his cell, her just staring at him.

He'd seen her on the battlefield prior, or at least, seen the carnage she could cause.

He'd cracked in six breems.

Now, in the incredibly dim room, it was just her, the twin prey items, and 'Shimmerlight'.

She'd activated her cloak so they wouldn't be able to see her, she was simply here to watch and enjoy.

Sideswipe was the first to come to, groaning as he shifted on the berth he was lying upon.

Novalight felt her smirk grow as she watched him realise where he was.

"The frag… HEY! WHAT'S THE FRAGGING BIG DEAL?!" He yelled, jolting his already coming too twin into full awareness.

"Son of a… SOMEBOT BETTER DIASBLE THIS BERTH!" He yelled, his gears and hydraulics clearly heard straining as he and his twin tried to fight the magnetic pull of the berths they were stuck to.

Her larger wings flicked back and hit the hologram behind her, making her wings visible to 'Shimmerlight'.

It was time.

Sunstreaker growled as he continued to struggle, Sideswipe turned his helm slightly when he heard an odd sound, but his fear wasn't picked up by the gold mech as he continued to strain against the magnetic field.

At least, until the red mech let off an incredibly high pitched scream as his struggling increased tenfold, causing the gold mech to jolt and turn to see what was distressing his twin so much.

It was the ghost femme, she was slowly fazing through the wall to the left of them, helm shifting and twitching from its crooked angle, the black holes where her optics had once been somehow locked on them as she drew that bit closer, her mangled frame twisting and turning at some less than welcoming angles as she drew closer.

 _"_ _Love? Why do you run? …Don't you want our little one? …Don't you want me? …Please, say yes… It's a little mech… please love… why don't you love me?"_ Her voice echoed through the room as she closed in on Sideswipe's berth, broken servo reaching out, and a single digit, barely still attached to the rest of her, drifted over the left side of his faceplates, drifting from the edge of his optic to his lipplates and down to his chin before slowly tracing the grooves and dips of his neckcables.

The red mech froze in place, his twin hissed at the spectre, trying and failing to get up from the berth. "Frag off femme! You're mechs offlined! Go back to the pit you spawn of Unicron! Leave me and my twin the frag alone!" He yelled, having been finally pushed beyond breaking point.

The femmes attention snapped to him, the holes on her faceplates narrowing as the part of her faceplates which were hanging loose split down to the middle, revealing rows of jagged steal, as small metal spheres fell out in a constant stream.

It was a moment later that the spheres transformed, and the two mechs realised what they were.

"SCRAPLETS!" Sideswipe all but screamed, his frame twisting as much as he could on the berth as he tried to shake the parasites off.

 _"_ _HOW DARE YOU DECIVE ME!"_ Shimmerlight screamed, her helm splitting apart and the dark tendrils practically exploded out, wrapping around both of them. _"HOW DARE YOU!"_

The Scraplets seemed to respond to this, jaws unhinging and the blades within their large jaws whirring loudly as they began clattering towards the seams of the mechs armour on their spindly claw like legs.

The scream which came from them seemed to shake the very walls.

"And cut!"

The new voice went unheard by the two mechs, instead they just watched on as the parasites flickered out of existence, the brigs lights coming back on to full brightness, causing the twos optics to complain somewhat.

However, when the wall in front of them flickered out of existence, and the smirking form of a certain tri colour femme was spotted, reality came crashing back on the two.

With matching roars of indignation they glared at the femme, who was now howling on her perch, grasping her middle as her wings rattled right along with the rest of her frame.

"Thanks for the help Mirage!" She crowed.

The image of Shimmerlight flickered out of existence just as a red mech, slightly larger in height than the two, came into existence, he turned to the femme, bowing lightly. "My pleasure Novalight, it was a joy breaking in the newest recruits." He responded, his voice heavily accented, likely a mech from Polyhex.

With that the mech left, a smug look on his faceplates as he strutted out, likely a former mech model by the way he held himself.

Their attention then turned back to the femme, only to find her hanging upside down on her perch, glaring at him, clawed servos and pedes gripped tight to the perch in her odd upside down perch.

What happened to the laughing femme from half an astrosecond ago?

"Listen close you two slaggers, I get it, you want even, but if you mess with **_my_** stuff again, I won't prank you…" She pulled out an ion cannon from a subspace which seemed to of been hidden in her hipplate, pointing at Sunstreaker, the barrel heating up with a quite whine as an ion round slowly built up inside. "… I'll just gun you down, and burry your round loaded frames out in the Badlands… And just to prove I'm not joking…"

Before either could realise what was going on, she fired.

The shot skimmed past the gold mechs helm, just nicking the end of the berth before hitting the wall behind.

"…I won't miss… you mess with any of my stuff, especially **_my_** _Spitter_ , and I will end you, no safety net, not catching out, and certainly no wasted ammunition." She let go of the perch, cannon already back in subspace as she flipped and landed on the floor before simply walking out.

The door shutting behind her.

It was only three breems or so later that the two recovered.

"Sunny? If I wasn't for how I think I'm in love with that femme, I'd be terrified."

Sunstreaker couldn't turn his helm to scowl at him, instead giving a kick over the bond. "Get over your stupid crush, she's not worth it. She's a psychopath!"

Sideswipes faceplates twisted into one of slight irritation. "Don't wanna, she's hot."

Sunstreaker growled. "Yeah, she is, but she's also got more screws loose then Blitzwing."

Sideswipe rolled her optics. "So, when do you think we'll get off these berths?" He asked.

The gold mech seemed to only then remember the fact they were stuck there. "I am going to offline that femme."

Sideswipe snickered. "Good luck bro, I'll see yah in the pits when her sire fires a cannon up your aft." Before chuckling. "Primus though! How do we top this? Ghost femme, Scraplets and that story?!" He exclaimed, a wide smile blooming on his features as he let out a laugh. "Oh Sunny, we are screwed."

"No Sides, you're screwed, and dragging me with you!"

"Details!"

* * *

 **Shorter then the previous chapters, but, it's a prank, and I couldn't think of another way to draw it out.**

 **Warning to any and all who'd consider pranking Nova, chose your pranks wisely, this femmes as crafty as they come, and a good portion on those on base willing to help her out with pranking you.**

 **As shown above.**

 **Well then, anything to say?**

 **Nova:: That, was fun.**

 **Me:: Yup, and Spitters already fixed, your Sire and Que helped with the fix... plus upgrades**

 **...**

 **Me:: Well, I probably shouldn't of said that, oh well, she knows not to try and prank me, I hold all the power here**

 **Sunny: 'a bit muffled' HEY! WHEN'S SOMEONE GONNA GET US OUT OF HERE!**

 **Me: Oh sush you! You'll be out by next chapter! Well, with that said, see you all next time!**

 **Moon + Lunar**


	6. Kiss? Oh never mind

**Yay! Next chapter! Well, not much to say other than a few things happening in here, not gonna give anything away, updates as you've likely already worked out are going to be whenever I find the time to write, what with my exams in May instead of June/July this year... I love my school sometimes.**

 **Anyway, the usual disclaimer, Nova's owned by myself and Lunarbust23 (realized I've been using the wrong number, eek) everyone else belongs to Hasbro**

* * *

Chapter 6

It had taken four orns, but finally, the twins and Novalight had agreed to a ceasefire, one that wasn't exactly their idea.

It was more Prowl towering over the three somehow and demanding they quit their shenanigans and focus on the fact they were at war that finally got them to behave, after an extended stay in isolation down in the brig that is.

However, he had made the mistake not to make them promise not to prank anyone else.

Inadvertently creating a whole new, and incredibly more disruptive problem.

Novalight and the Terror twins, had joined forces.

Very few were safe from their wrath now.

However, at the current moment, pranking was the last thing on Novalight's processor as she jumped, ducking behind a fallen piece of wall, wincing as the uneven surface made contact with her dented wing, shot out of the sky, and she was looking for the son of a glitch who'd fired the lucky shot, lucky seeing as she'd been in her cloak at the time and pretty much undetectable.

Didn't mean he or she would be so lucky when she found them.

She hated random fire, hated it with a passion worthy of the most driven warrior, which wasn't far off what she was anyway.

With a low growl she drew Spitter from her subspace, smirking manically as she shifted it off paint to its more pyrotechnic function.

'Burn, burn, burn you sons of scraplet humping pieces of sludge.' She purred internally as she let the sounds of battle flow through her, unlike others, she revelled in the sounds of combat, the dying screams and guttural groans she could do without, but the sheer amount of explosions and gun shots for the most part drowned that out, allowing her to focus on the sound of her spark beating in her audios to the beat of the chaos around her.

Rolling out from her shield she charged forwards, hefting the massive flamethrower up so she was holding it almost like one would a high powered rifle, using the sight to focus in on a large group of Vehicons which seemed to of noticed her, all of them charging forwards with blasters already firing.

She didn't even hesitated to press the trigger, a sense of euphoria pouring through her frame as the drones screamed, the torrent of flame flowing over their flames in one hot white blast, melting everything that came in contact with the powerful flaming liquid why stuck to their frames and slipped between the cracks in their armour.

She finally took her digit off the trigger, lowering her pride and joy only slightly to take in the molten pool in front of her, a tune entered her helm and she began humming to it, activating her thrusters and taking her clawed pedes off the ground so they didn't have to come into contact with the pool of metal which had once been a twenty five strong battalion.

Lifting the weapon up slightly she kissed its side. "Good boy, you love making carrier proud don't you?" She continued to purr as she spotted her creators, a sense of joy filling her as she witnessed them working together with, oh Bumblebee was there too, all three where fighting a large brute sized mech. 'How many of those do the cons have? I've shot at three already this cycle!' She pondered before reaching for her subspace, ducking just in time for a shot to fly past her helm, without a beat of hesitation a small pistol was in her servo, and firing a shot which penetrated a Con femmes helm, right between the optics. "Frag no glitch." Her smirk grew wider as she realised she hadn't even needed to look.

Finally pulling her other servo from her subspace, she pulled the pin on the grenade out with her denta before shouting. "KIONAVALOUSY!" The word had no actual meaning, but it was the context of the randomness of her sudden shout which she was hoping would have the preferred effect.

At the word her family unit ducked, leaving the brute confused and turning to see where the shout had come from, only for the spiked grenade to impact his faceplates, and detonate a moment later.

The helmless mech fell to the charred and energon stained ground after a moment of swaying, leaving Novalight to hop on top the carcasses back strut and look over her family unit who had now returned to their standing positions. "Miss me?" She asked coyly, single servo resting on her hipplate.

Chromia chuckled as she shook her helm slightly in exasperation. "Having fun sweetspark?" She asked.

Novalight shrugged before gesturing to her lower right wing. "It would be better, but some aft was able to clip me…" She pointed to a moderately large scorch mark on her shoulder plate, where the shot hit. "…Thankfully I only dented a wing though, what about you little bro? Enjoying your first battle?!" She asked, taking a few steps while she was talking to she could rub her servo a bit roughly into his helm, causing the yellow and black Praxian to swat her servo after a moment.

"It's terrifying!" He responded, optics wide, before shifting his right servo into a cannon and shooting a mech who'd tried to sneak up behind Chromia, offlining the mech when it took his helm off. "Yet somehow a major rush!" He cheered.

From the way her faceplates where hurting Novalight swore she'd cut the lower half of her mouth off with how wide her smirk went as she grabbed her younger brother and gave him a powerful hug, causing him to flail and whine at her. She ignored his complaints though. "My little bro! All grown up! How many kills so far! No wait! Let me guess! Ten!? No! You're better than that! Fifty! Yeah! Fifty!" She cheered.

Finally Bumblebee was able to push her away and stand on his own, chassis puffing out in the process. "Sixty nine kills."

She pulled him into a whole new nearly inescapable hug for that. "I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!" She shouted happily before spinning and somehow lifting him up whilst looking at her adopted creators. "You're proud of him too right? Oh just wait till we get you a flamethrower like Spitter! I just took out a whole Vehicon battalion with my little Spitter! He's such a good boy isn't he!?" She rambled.

Ironhide took that moment to heft his much lighter daughter up so that she sat in the crook of his arm, although he had to be quite careful with her damaged wing. "Easy Nova, we need to get you to a field medic to sort out that wing and shoulder, then you can get back up into the air." He stated.

Novalight calmed almost instantly, only shifting slightly as her sire proceeded to carry her a across the battlefield, her acting like a living turret as he used his other cannon to take out anyone trying to get too close, Bumblebee and her carrier walking slightly behind them.

The familiar sound of thrusters came from overhead, causing the family unit to look up and watch as two Con seekers flew overhead, apparently not spotting them as they trekked between two overhangs of twisted metal, even though it was only her sire didn't stick out like a Giga bison in a Neon sheep pen.

Using this to her advantage Novalight reached into the subspace which had been added to her left arm, drawing a compact rifle which quickly shifted on command into its correct firing state, levelling the sight with a patch of air a little was ahead of the lead seeker.

The shot impacted the left wing, the impact causing the round to trigger the small explosive charge which was stored in the back, causing shrapnel to rip through the wing.

Novalight watched with a wide smirk as the lead seeker's wing burst into flame, causing it to veer to the right and crash right into the one which had been flying behind, causing both to tear up their adjacent wings.

All four watched as the tangled mass of metal crashed into the ground in a ball of fire.

Ironhide left off a grunt. "Good shot Nova, new round Que gave you to test?" He enquired.

Novalight nodded. "Yup, he designed it especially for seekers, all he needs is for me to safety test it and if I give it the all clear, seekers will have a lot more to look out for." She stated.

Her family unit didn't seem to like that fact. "And you'll be flying up there with them." Chromia stated. "I do not want one of those hitting you." She stated firmly, giving her daughter one of the few looks which could actually fully sink into her adopted daughter.

Her wings lowered in response as she shifted slightly in her sire's grip. "I guess… I'll alert Que to that factor and see what he can come up with… oh! Shiny!" She trilled before her servo suddenly slammed into the metalface they were passing, servo wrapping around something and yanking it back out, it looked like a fang of some sort, chipped and bent, but it still held a slight dark grey shine to it, making it glint in the blue and red firelight which illuminated the vast majority of the battle field.

Bumblebee looked up to his carrier after watching his older sister ogle the piece of metal for a short time, their sire still carrying her and simply rolling his optics at her antics. "When did sis lose her sanity Dani?" He asked.

Chromia chuckled and shook her helm. "I am not certain Bumblebee, your sister has never been very stable… I still wonder why I let Flareup take her under her tutelage though… but, she has learned a lot from the Demolition squad, such has her petro hound like sense when it comes to explosive devices."

Bumblebee rolled his optics. "I swear to Primus she has a sixth sense… also, why is she so interested in that metal?" He asked, gesturing to what his sister had just randomly pulled out of a wall.

Chromia shrugged. "It's a seeker thing. They're attracted to shiny things, it's in their very coding left over from before the golden age." She explained.

Bumblebee shook his helm. "I'm really glad I'm not a seeker."

Novalight's helm snapped over to him with a shocked expression. "You're not!? What! But! Ohhh… right…. I keep forgetting you can't fly…. You have wings! Well…. Doorwings but still! Carrier! Why can't Praxians fly!?" She whined, before getting distracted again with her new piece of metal. "Shiny!" She trilled.

Ironhide jostled her slightly. "Focus Nova, there is a time and a place for you to act in such a way, but now is not that time." He commanded, knowing his daughter was just fooling around for the sake of fooling around.

Novalight let off an aggravated huff before straitening, instead resting her elbow join on her sires helm and leaning down to look at him so he saw her upside down. "I know. I know Opi, this is a war zone but BOGEY FOUR A'CLOCK!" She suddenly yelled after her three working wings flared, spinning and drawing a long range hand pistol and firing off six shots through the crack which ran through the ceiling of the concealed walkway, taking out the Insecticon which had been heading towards them from a quarter of a klik away. "I hate those bugs." She grumbled, holstering her weapon again into a subspace on her hip plate.

Chromia shot her son a knowing look. "You see, she may act like a sparkling, but your sister is surprisingly grown up, and well trained in taking out the enemy, she just likes to play around." She added to her previous statement.

Bumblebee just shook his helm. "Why do I feel like I'm the most grounded in his family unit?"

Novalight chuckled as she leant back to look at her brother from upside down. "Because you have me as an older sister! And I have a tendency of being crazy!" She cheered, beginning to pull faces at the floor whilst also twirling the scrap of metal in her servo.

Bumblebee's shoulder plates slumped. "That would explain it, you two being fine with that only makes it worse."

Ironhide chuckled at his son's exasperation, lifting his over servo to cover his daughter's optics as a large explosion occurred close to their covered walkway. "We're your creators, and… Nova, sit straight, and I and you carrier are perfectly happy with how our oldest is prone to destruction and you're calm enough to not cause the base to shake off its foundations on a daily basis with your aunt and uncle."

Novalight perked up. "I need to tell Que about the rifle shots being a danger to Autobot seekers! Gotta go!" Before any of them could react she jumped out of her sires hold and began a sprint down the sheltered walkway, thrusters activating and sending her rocketing forwards.

Ironhide and Chromia exchanged a look before Ironhide turned and hefted his son up into his arms, causing the yellow and black mech to growl in agitation for a moment before deciding to just roll with it, instead banging the back of his helm against his sires shoulder plate. "You really got to wonder if that fall she took before you first found her knocked something loose." He grumbled.

Chromia whacked him lightly on his knee joint. "Oh don't go there! You're sister just prefers her own way of dealing with her emotions."

"By acting crazy when she's actually got a processor as sharp as a scraplet trap?" Bumblebee responded with.

Chromia nodded with a smirk. "Well she was raised by us and the Demolition squad, it's kind of expected."

Ironhide nodded, before lowering his son to the ground again and powering his cannons back up, they'd reached the end of the concealed walkway, and the battle was still going strong outside. "Ready?"

Their own weapons began to hum in agreement, but they were for the most part drowned out by the sound of explosions happening all around them.

"CHARGE!"

* * *

Med bay six joors later

"….And then I said 'Frag no Glitch' as she crumpled to the floor! I didn't even aim!" Novalight trilled, legs kicking from where she sat on the berth, clawed pedes hanging limply in the air as Jolt continued work on resetting her currently numb wing. "Oh and guys, really? I use explosive grenades and a flame thrower as my main weapons, and yet Sides was the one to get his arm blown off?! That's Jackie's thing! Ain't it aunty Flareup! Losing his limbs to explosions is your mates thing!" Novalight rambled, gesturing to him as she regarded her aunt who was currently helping Moonracer pull a large metal cog which had gotten stuck around the helm of a mech designated Seaspray. But the red and orange femme was able to nod before getting back to work on dislodging the cog, lifting her pede and pressing it against the poor mechs side for extra leverage, finally being able to get the cog off, sending the two femmes tumbling to the ground with the cog landing on top of them, as they themselves were left laughing messes on the floor at how the mech had been sent sprawling across the floor in the other direction from the force.

Sideswipe chuckled as he shook his helm at the rambling femme. "I could say the same about your wing. You find the one who was lucky enough to hit you?"

Interupted from her ramblings Novalight frowned at him for a moment before a wide smirk grew across her features as she reached into her subspace and pulled a servered servo, energon was splattered around the majority of it from where it looked to of been savagely ripped off. "I wouldn't exacltly call a helmless and legless mech 'lucky'."

Sunstreaker grunted from the otherside of his twin. "Femme, you truly are fragged in the helm if you kept that."

Novalight shrugged. "I plan to mount it on my berthroom wall, so I don't really give a frag if you like how I live or not, unless you want to use it as a new paintbrush?" She was well aware of Sunstreakers painting abilities; he was truly a skilled painter, and she had to admit to herself his work was really something else.

Sunstreaker scowled at her, but before he could send a response back her way Jolt patted her on the shoulder. "Ok Nova, wings all fixed, now it'll remain numb for another joor or so, but it will sting a bit afterwards, normally I'd tell patients with damaged wings to take it easy for a few cycles just to recalibrate… and she's already gone."

"Whoa! Watch it! Barrel roll! Barrel roll! THE WORLD WON'T STOP SPINNING!" Was the verbal confirmation that the moment the medic had cleared her, the seeker femme had flown out, with only three of her four wings technically working and receiving information, and so sending her into an out of controlled frenzy of a flight path.

Sunstreaker scowled at the medic. "That femme needs to be grounded, permanently." His twin may off gotten over the whole 'Shimmerlight prank' and those similarly traumatising pranks which followed, but he hadn't, he was still having trouble recharging some lunar cycles.

Jolt sighed as he looked over to where Ratchet was purposefully ignoring them, too busy in trying to dislodge a piece of shrapnel from Hound's shoulder plate. "We tried once, and we haven't since to avoid the aftermath being repeated."

The twin mechs exchanged a look before Sideswipe asked. "How bad we talking."

"It took seventeen full grown mechs jumping on top of her just to pin her long enough to sedate her… it was also when we discovered that she was sparked with Hydra Energy drive, as it was then classified as."

Sideswipe tilted his helm in confusion. "A what? And does that mean that no one knew about it until you found it in her?"

Jolt nodded. "Yeah, it's a group of energy storing pouches tucked under her spark chamber, they are somehow able to collect the air which passes by her frame during flight, stores it, and then pushes it at high force through a small generator, that built up charge is then sent straight into her thrusters, causing the energon there to get a 'boost' as you will, hence her incredibly high speed capacity, and the faster she goes, the more air is pushed inside and the more those storage pouches stretch and strengthen, hence why she doesn't seem to have a top speed. So far at least. Basically she's able to supercharge the energon used for propulsion." He finished explaining.

The twins sat there in silence looking between Jolt and one another before Sides shrugged his one intact shoulderplate and said. "Yeah you lost us at the 'pouches' bit but, if I ever find myself interested in knowing more about how a femme like her can go faster, I'll be happy to ask."

A moment later a large wrench made contact with the red mechs helm, the force would've sent the injured mech tumbling off the berth had his twin not caught his dazed frame.

Ratchet was already towering over them, another wrench in servo as he brandished it a right in front of the mechs faceplates. "This is a med bay you perverted mech, and I will not have you speaking such things within these walls! Unless you wish to lose more than an arm this cycle!" He roared. "Especially when you make such a comment to the youngest femme on base! Who just so happens to be my niece!"

Sideswipe lifted his only currently attached arm to try and placate the mech, a wide terrified grin on his faceplates. "Duly noted Hatchet!"

The wrench collided again. "And don't you dare call me that." He growled, practically pressing his faceplates to the younger mechs with a scowl which would send most sensible Decepticons running for their own base to hide in the shadows deep under their berths.

But Sideswipe seemed to have a death wish. "Whatever you say, Batchet."

Flareup pulled her servos away from her audios once the CMO was done, looking over to where the red twin had been knocked into stasis, by the slew of wrenches which now littered the floor, reaching over she patted Moonracer's shoulder plate. "Have fun with your mate tonight." She hummed before practically skipping out of the med bay and past the livid medic before the teal green and white femme could respond, Ratchet himself was now glaring death at the gold twin who'd promptly pinned himself into the corner of the med bay, optics darting around the room in desperate need of a way to escape.

* * *

Twelve joors later

"How's the arm?"

Sideswipe jolted slightly, almost falling off the edge of the bases roof he'd been sitting on examining his arm, which was currently being held in a brace.

Helm snapping round he locked optics with Novalight, the femme giving him a rare concerned smile, he returned the smile with his own coy one. "Itches a little." He responded.

Novalight tilted her helm down at the braced limb, it was a miracle they'd even found the original, and that Ratchet had been able to put it back together to the point it looked like it was brand new, not a single chip, her uncle really did care about his patients, he just never could figure out how to properly show it. Something she seemed to of gotten from him after vorns of him looking after her.

"And your helm?" She then asked, moving to sit down next to him instead of crouching to his left.

Sideswipe chuckled. "And you're only acting concerned now because…?" He asked, raising an optic ridge at her as his smile shifted into a coy smirk.

Her response was her upper right wing banging into his helm lightly, causing him to yelp as it hit one of the tender spots which had yet to fade from the CMO's wrench attack from two cycles prior. Novalight shot him an irritated look. "It takes a while for me to calm down from my crazy highs." She mumbled, drawing the fang she'd pulled out of the wall from her subspace so she could hold the surprisingly large jagged blade in both servos, running two of her digits over the flat side, Sideswipe turned his helm to take a look, having caught the faint shine in his peripheral.

"Where'd you find that?" He enquired.

Nova shrugged. "Not sure… whenever we go out into battle… something just clicks in my helm… and by the time I'm back to normal, up to five six joors has past, I'm not sure why, but everyone's there just saying I was my normal self, yet Spitter's normally more than half empty, my subspace needs to be completely refilled, and it's even happened in the training room while I'm with my family unit… It's like I just turn off…" She trailed off, before she tensed as Sideswipe's unbraced servo rested on her shoulder plate. "Scrap… no one was supposed to know…" She hissed out more to herself.

Sideswipe didn't say anything at first simply moving to wrap an arm around her in a sideways hug. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Novalight let out a sigh through her vents. "It's been happening since even before sire pulled me from the rubble off my home… whenever my creators got mad at me… for doing something like leaving my room without permission? They'd try to hit me, the next thing I know, I've gone without energon for at least a cycle and one of my creators had a broken something on their frames, be it a servo, a pede, I once broke one of my original sires wings off… I went a long time without energon for that one… but I never remember anything. Uncle Ratchet and the other medics know about it, but I swore them to confidentiality." She mumbled, pulling her legs up so she could bury her faceplates into the dip formed between them, wings fluttering with her visible distress.

Sideswipe sighed. "You and I both know what you have, me and Sunny have it too… Berserker Coding." He grumbled, turning to look up at the sky, the stars flickering in and out of view due to the almost perpetual black fog which now seemed to surround their planet. The mention of her being starved for punishment was something which he quickly stored away for later investigation.

Once that was dealt with though, his thoughts drifted elsewhere, predominately on the war that surrounded all of them.

It really didn't take a make with Que's level of intelligence to know that Cybertron wasn't going to last much longer with this war, soon, the planet would become uninhabitable to even the hardiest of insecticons.

Novalight sighed. "I know, I saw it on you're file, it developed in the Gladiatorial Arena's, but… I don't know where mine comes from, did I get it from one of my creators? Or did I go through something I can't remember? … Don't you dare tell anyone… they all just think it's because of how Aunty Flareup and the rest of the Demo's helped in my upbringing, and Sides… if I do ever do anything crazy? Like… really… really crazy, please… don't hesitate to put me down… I don't want to hurt anyone I hold close to my spark, and really, that's everyone on base, they've all helped to raise me in some way, shape, or form, hurting any of them whilst I'm like that…"

The request left him stunned. "W-w-what? Nova, you cannot be serious…" He mumbled, shuffling slightly so that he was brushing against her, placing a servo on her leg and trying to look directly into her optics, wanting to know for certain if she was serious.

She ducked her helm away for a moment, before letting off a huff of air and turning back to answer, only for their optics to lock and everything to freeze over around them.

Optics locked, taking in one another, after a few moments, he leaned forwards, optics fluttering shut, Novalight sat there frozen for just a moment more before leaning forwards, and the two pressed their lips together before either could think twice of it.

After a moment more he tried to turn things up a notch, running his glossa over her bottom lip, but it had the opposite effect from what he was hopping.

Before the red mech could react, Novalight's fist slammed into the side of his helm, knocking him to the ground as Novalight glared at him. "The frag Sides! Why'd you kiss me?!" She then began trying to rub the odd sensation on her lipplates away as the red mech continued to groan on the surface of the roof, cradling the side of his helm.

Slowly he was able to push himself back upright to look over at the seeker femme. "Err… spur of the moment?" He suggested.

Novalight's only response was to raise an optic ridge at him and give him a disbelieving look before speaking. "I don't see you like that Sides, a prank buddy yes, a friend yes, but only that. Got it?" To emphasise her point one of her smaller blasters appeared in her servo, already humming as a pale blue glow built up inside, trained directly at him.

He nodded quickly, lifting his un-braced servo up in a placating manor. "Crystal clear… don't know what spurred that… but it never happened!" He responded.

After a moment, the glow of her blaster died back down and the small blaster was put back away in her subspace. After she just sat back down, crossing her pedes and starring out at the polluted sky above.

The awkward silence hung for a good few breems before Novalight finally let off a sigh, rising back to her pedes and stretching her arms over her helm, twisting her upper torso a few times to work out a few kinks which had developed before giving Sideswipe a casual salute. "See yah soon Sides."

With that, she leapt from the roof, transforming mid-air and blasting away.

With a groan he fell backwards so he laid sprawled out on the roof of the base, watching as the trails she'd left behind slowly dispersed from view.

'Damnit femme… what are you doing to me…'

He was surprised Sunny was still so adamant to keep their relationship pranking only, which even then he didn't agree with, but with Nova, dragging him along had certainly made it easier to get him involved…

Probably because Novalight was able to get them out of there faster than Ratchet could pelt their helms in with his wrenches.

Primus, he'd once see her out fly a ground to air missile!

A ticking sound caught his attention, turning down he spotted the all too familiar shape and multicoloured glow of one of her grenades.

'When had she left that?'

"Oh scrap..." Not a moment later it detonated, causing a wave of multicoloured paint swamped him, the liquid flowing off the side of the base's roof.

For once, he was glad Sunstreaker hadn't followed him up here.

* * *

 **Weeeelllllllllll? When I wrote that bit at the end, Lunar was practically yelling at me about how she wanted it to go, but, Nova wouldn't of liked that, so, I had her deck him, friendzone, and paintbomb him. Just to show her opinion of him, friend only.**

 **Don't worry, it'll change at some point down the line, when? You'll just have to wait and see XD**

 **Well, until next time!**

 **(Oh, and Sunny's still avoiding Ratchet and hiding somewhere to avoid getting as many wrenches to the helm as his twin, it's a miracle Side's even walking right now!)**

 **Moon+Lunar**


	7. Final attack

**Oh boy, so much happened in this chapter, well, nothing really to say other than that Nova is owned by both myself and Lunarburst23, any other chracters in this are created by myself on a whim, you might see them again, you might not. Well, hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7

Two vorns later

Novalight groaned as she leaned back, stretching backwards as she stood on a small ledge which stuck out from one of the Balconies on the Autobot base in Simfur, she'd been deployed to the base four orns ago, but she wasn't the only one deployed here.

"Bored?" Sideswipe asked as he leaned over the wall which separated Novalight's small ledge from the rest of the balcony.

Novalight just shot him a peeved off look, before turning to stare back out over the partially destroyed city in front of her. "What do you think Sides? Four orns, and only six attacks… wish we were still in Iacon… with my family unit…" She mumbled, shifting so that she could pull her knee joints up to the underside of her helm so she could rest it there.

A black servo landed on her shoulder, she knew it wasn't Sides though, her wings where pretty accurate at picking things up, and she hadn't missed Sunstreaker walking over to them.

"You know as much as we do that there's no room in Iacon anymore, too many bots packed in one place makes too much of a target, by spreading out…" He tried to reassure her, not because he cared, it was just that he'd found when Nova was down, Sides was down, and in turn would bug the pit out of him even more than usual.

"There's less casualties, I know… I just wish one of my family unit at least could have come with me… maybe my little bro? He's been serving long enough to transfer now…"Novalight finished form him before letting off a sigh. "I'm going for a flight…" With that, she just flung her frame forwards and rolled off the ledge, her form quickly descending towards the ground before she transformed and shot upwards, corkscrewing past the twin mechs as they watched on.

With a sigh Sideswipe turned to Sunstreaker, having picked up on the emotions he was feeling over the bond. "C'mon Sunny, will you stop thinking this is a bad idea?" He huffed, crossing his arms over his primarily red chassis.

Sunstreaker shot him a glare before answering. "Sides, she's too… too… too… Like you!" He growled.

An optics ridge quirking upwards was Sideswipes first response. "You don't like her, because she's too much like me?" He asked, trying to work it out himself.

Sunstreaker growled. "Side's, she made us think we had a deceased femme chasing us, she stole our wheels and threw them in the Bases incinerator! She replaced our berths with ones made of datapads! Sides! She once held us hostage and made it look like we'd been fragging decapitated! Do you not remember all of that?!" He exclaimed.

Sideswipe stared at him for a moment before sighing. "I understand where you're coming from Sunny, but… she hasn't done anything to us like that in over two vorns, since we made that treaty, she's only ever helped us with pranks."

Sunstreaker huffed. "Helped you, I only ever want to join in when the one you two are going after damaged my paint."

Sideswipe starred at his twin for a good few minutes before sighing. "Well I like her, and if you don't like her, then maybe she's not the one for us, but you need to at least give her a chance before you shoot her down."

Sunstreaker growled. "We've known her for vorns Sides. I doubt my opinion on her is going to change at this point."

With a groan Sideswipe shook his helm, he was going to respond when an all too familiar sound caught his audios.

"DIVE!" He shouted, launching forwards and tackling his twin to the ground, just as a large missile stuck the side of the base, the explosion and smoke engulfing the balcony and the area around as sirens began to blare throughout the base.

* * *

Novalight was a third of the way through her decided flight path when the sound of the explosion reached her audios, taking a harsh arch she transformed, optics quickly locking on the now under siege base, but what she spotted, even from where she was, was the balcony she'd just been on, was gone, and the rubble was still falling down the side of the base.

Dread instantly pooled within her as she cried out. "TWINS!"

She arrived at the now destroyed balcony within seconds, vents laboured as she instantly began grabbing at pieces of rubble and shorn metal which had been blown back on what little of the large balcony was left attached to the base, all whilst the sounds of gunfire and clashes occurred around her.

Her purple tipped servos screeched against every piece of metal she was too rushed to grab, but she didn't even notice the servo reaching for her shoulderplate.

Once the black servo made contact though, Nova snapped like a coil viper, fist soaring before she even knew where the target was, and making contact not half an astrosecond later, sending the one who'd made contact flying.

Her vents picked up when she finally spotted the large Iaconian mech lying in a daze on the floor. Steelwell, one of the heavy hitters on base and a member of the heavy artillery division.

"Scrap! Steel! I didn't realise it was you!" She rushed, running to the pale blue and green mech before she was even up right, causing her to stumble over her own clawed pedes in her haste.

After a moment Steelwell chuckled, rubbing the now split open side of his faceplates. "You sure you're not a frontliner like those twins you're friends with? Yah gota punch worthy of a Combiner." He rumbled out, pushing against the rubble covered floor so that he could stand back up, with Nova's assistance.

Nova shook her helm, moving in an attempt to pull the mechs arm over her shoulder, but he pulled it away not a moment later. "Steel…"

"Nuh uh, no way Nova, one, yah half my height at least, two, it'd do mah pride a number if anybot saw meh being supported by ah l'il femme like yourself."

Nova barely held in a growl when she gave him a shove, jolting him slightly. "I'll have you know, I'm now the largest femme in Iacon!" She responded, her upper two wings flaring higher up her frame.

Steelwell chuckled, rubbing her helm with one large servo as he drew a large, two servoed Gatling ion cannon from its holster on his back strut. "Still half my size, killer punch or not."

Suddenly, she remembered why she was back on the balcony. "Steel, you know the twins? Sunny and Sides? They were on that balcony when I left!" She exclaimed, waving her servos back the way they had come. "I have to go find them!"

Steelwell shuttered his optics at her a few more times before chuckling. "No need, those two terrors are already down on the battlefield if the com-link chatters anything to go by, thankfully, our defences haven't been too heavily breached yet, now, get moving!" He followed up with a battle cry before breaking into a fast lumber, shaking the corridor slightly as Nova watched him go for a second, before jumping up and activating her thrusters, shooting off after him and quickly passing him.

"Right back at yah!" She called as she shot down another corridor towards the Simfur bases main entrance.

However, as all the other times before, the moment she reached the battlefield, she was overtaken again.

A maniac grin overcame her features as she drew Spitter. "YIPEEKYAHCARRIERFRAGGERS!" She bellowed as she shifted Spitter to his grenade function, and began unleashing all out explosive barrage on the encroaching forces, aiming just far enough across the battle field to disrupt the charging cons and not the ones already engaged in firefights.

* * *

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were already in the thick of the battle when they heard the cacophony of explosions go off ahead of them, but they were used to this, and quickly identified Nova's effective way of breaking up the con ranks.

Sunstreaker grunted as he sliced into another vehicons side, almost cutting the drone in two before charging on and leaving his previous target to drop to the already torn up ground, offline. His armour was already caked in energon, ash and anything else, and it put him in a horrid mood which had started the moment he'd found himself half buried in chunks of the balcony which had been blasted back into the corridor along with himself and Sideswipe, leaving them looking like they'd just gotten blown up, which in turn had put both twins in a very foul mood, namely Sunstreaker.

Wait, he had been blown up, and now, he and his twin were rearing for some retribution.

Not a moment after his thoughts returned to that area, he heard his twin shout something, and not a moment later, he was tackled to the ground by Sideswipe, just in time to save him from a large axe swinging through the place his helm had been, the large weapon having been thrown by a brute of a mech who was already lumbering towards them.

With only a nod between them, the two were back on their wheeled pedes and charging forwards towards their aggressor.

A moment before they could engage though, a large round slammed directly through the brute mechs forehelm, leaving him to tumble backwards from the force and go crashing to the already charred ground.

Helms snapping up the twins easily spotted the tri-colour seeker, who with a bright, and no less pshycotic look on her face, waved at the two, the large cannon which had come from her subspace and attached to her shoulder being the one she'd received from her sire an orn ago for testing.

Once they acknowledged her with a wave of their own each, all be it a little irritated from Sunstreaker and all out manic from Sideswipe, her form exploded into pixels, leaving nothing there a moment later, leaving them unaware of wherever the cloaked femme shot off too.

Sunstreaker huffed as the two quickly moved back into the fray, ducking behind a large outcrop as he and his twin drew their blasters. "Yah see what I mean Sides?! She's always taking our kills too!"

Sideswipe groaned, his twin really couldn't let it go. "Sunny! Now is not the time for you throwin' a glitch fit! Would you rather her be on the con side devastating our forces with her explosive mad ways? You act like it sometimes!"

Sunstreaker grumbled. "If she was, I wouldn't get called upon for friendly fire!"

Sideswipe pouted, jumping up and easily shooting another vehicon down before ducking back down as a round of fire shot past his helm. "One of these days, you're gonna have to take that rusted pole outta your aft and admit that she's at least good at what she does!"

"I'm not denying that she's not a good shot, nor am I denying that the weapons she makes and upgrade make those cons which they'd never been sparked! I'm denying the fact that I see anything in that femme! Which I don't! I still can't fathom why you kissed that glitch!" He barked.

Not a moment later, another bot jumped behind their cover, a mech they recognised as one of Wheeljack's distant cousins, Heavyhaul if they remember right.

"Hey! What you two screaming about?! Sounded juicy!" He barked a laugh at their irritated expressions, which the maroon and orange mech waved off, pulling out a detonator and pressing the button, causing a echoing 'boom' to ring out from somewhere ahead of their hiding spot where the mech had just come from.

Sideswipe smirked, Nova had already become a good friend to this mech, what with her close ties to Wheeljack and his family unit, and the love of high explosives more than half of the extended family unit also seemed to share. "We were talking about Nova!" He shouted over the gunfire.

Heavyhaul nodded. "Saw her a breem ago shooting off North of here! What about her was so important yah had to have a screaming match about her on the battlefield?!"

Suntreaker growled as he jumped up and let off a string of shots towards some random 'Con he couldn't be bothered to designate. "Sideswipe kissed her about two vorns ago! And I don't like her one bit!"

Heavyhaul shot Sideswipe an inquiring look, almost asking how he was still online. "If it's any consolation, she punched me in the face mid-kiss! Then, she friend-zoned me!"

Sunstreaker rolled his optics at his twins whinning tone. "A blessing! But I'd rather you hated her too!"

Heavyhaul just watched as the two mechs then continued to shout at one another over the ruckus of the battlefield.

It was, in his opinion, quite the show they were putting on.

Not three breems into their 'macho' screaming match, and a new 'Bot joined them behind the natural shield they were using.

And it was none over than Nova. "What are you all screeching about?! I could hear you over a glitch fitting Starscream! Also… ow… audios…" She huffed.

Heavyhaul shot her a look. "You engaged Starscream?"

That got the twin mechs attention, their helms snapping round to take in her slightly charred and dented armour.

Nova nodded, stretching her arms over her helm as she tried to crack her spinal strut. "Yup, got a round right into his hip… then he was just shooting randomly seeing as I had my cloak on, lucky femme impersonating glitch got a few shots in… when two mechs decided to be so loud, they could be heard from half the battlefield away… what the fragging pit was so important, that Primus himself had to hear it!? Scrap! Unicron could probably hear you from whatever hole he's rotting in!" She barked out, shifting and pulling Spitter back out into full view and beginning to reload the large multi-purpose weapon.

Sunstreaker glared at his twin, daring him to say anything. Sideswipe glared back for a moment before sighing. "We were… arguing about…" The look she and Heavyhaul were giving him where enough to convince him on what to say. "… About how Sunny doesn't like you Nova…"

Nova's attention went right to Sunstreaker with a 'really' look on her features. "Yeah… that was pretty evident from the shouting." She stood up then, drew a large weapon of some sorts from her subspace, and pressed a button on its side.

The twins watched in awe as the large… what they'd believed was a cannon, transformed, splitting in two and shifting into two lethal looking arm blades, the parts which attached to the frame looking like they were meant to attach to the sides, and the colour of the weapons, surprised the two.

They were gold.

Not a moment after that realisation, she shoved them to Sunstreaker. "Sides, yours are still in the works, I had made these things as a sign of good-will, but… I doubt they'll do much now to help me at least be friends with both of you." Without another word, she vaulted over the wall, thrusters activating and propelling her upwards back into the air before she transformed and shot off again, her cloak activating the moment she dodged a wild shot.

Sunstreaker stared down agape at the two large blades, digits brushing over the flat side of one as he took in the intricate carvings she must have etched into them, the flowing lines pulsating every few moments as energon shot through and around the blades, they were lethal looking, both internal edges holding a large divot about midway down and just as sharp on the edge as the rest of the blades.

Heavyhaul huffed. "She worked her aft off on those things… and you should know she ain't used to crafting swords… probably why she implemented the single cannon option… actually no… that made it harder…" He stated, remembering well the amount of prototypes she'd gotten through on the long nights she'd snuck out onto work on the things, often calling on his own skills and knowledge to help her piece the highly complex weapons together, the etching had been all her though, as well as the design, the transformation concept, and basically everything, she hadn't even let him touch the things actually, just asked for help to see if he could spot what was wrong.

He didn't give the two time to respond to what he had said before he vaulted over the cover, engaging his own shoulder cannon as he descended upon the enemy ranks.

The twin mechs then turned to one another looks of shock one both of their features, without even looking at the blades in his servos, Sunstreaker engaged them, allowing the attachments to side under the seams of his armour and wrap tightly around his arms, a near perfect fit.

The blades sung as they cut through the air, seeming to come from the etchings as the air passed over and through them.

Sideswipe had an almost giddy look on his faceplates as he shook his shoulderplates. "Oh... I want some of those." And the thought of them already being in the works made him feel even more excited.

Sunstreaker looked over at his twin, running his servo over the flat side of the blade again.

Finally, he turned to his twin, they exchanged a nod, and then launched back into the battlefield, Sunstreaker, using his new gifted weapons like they'd always been there.

* * *

Three joors later

"Sir! The attack here was a distraction!"

"Iacon was sieged!"

"Major casualties!"

"Nine combiners in total!"

"Tyga Pax has also been taken!"

"... Sir... The Allspark has been launched to the stars, but the co-ordinates where random and the logs destroyed! It's gone!"

"Reports of major casualties at Tyga Pax and many more still being located."

"Megatron has gone after the Cube!"

"The Prime is ordering that all Autobots are to evacuate the planet within the next few cycles, without the Allspark, Cybertron won't be able to support itself!"

Nova, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Heavyhaul and Steelwell were all huddled in one area, Heavyhaul was at present trying to treat the injuries on Nova's shoulderplate, as she wasn't serious enough to require attention from the already busy medics.

The two larger mechs exchanged a worried look as Nova's expression continued to worsen, her wings drooping lower than they've ever seen them go before.

It was also getting a reaction from the twins, namely Sideswipe, but Sunstreaker was surprisingly also showing quite a bit of concern, probably being influenced by his twins own strong emotions. "Nova? Nova? What's wrong?" Sideswipe mumbled, shaking her shoulderplate lightly and being weary of the more dented parts of her armour.

She mumbled something under her vent, her optics unfocused and her faceplates seeming to go numb.

Suddenly, she began shaking, lightly at first, but it quickly built up to the point that everyone in the recroom could hear the now loud clacking of her armour pieces banging into one another.

"Nova? What's wrong femme!" Sunstreaker snapped.

Her response was to suddenly launch herself from her seat, claws pedes screeching and scraping for a moment as they tried to gain traction.

Once they found purchase, she was bolting out of the room in a brutally fast sprint, not even having the thought to activate her thrusters, leaving Sideswipe and then Sunstreaker to race after them, leaving everyone else to watch on confused.

Nova didn't stop, not when the twins called her stop, not when the guards at the hanger tried to stop her from leaving the base, and once she was up in the air, the two guards having been bowled over by her, there was nothing stopping her from rocketing away, her hydra energy drive working hard to continue hypercharging her energon to enhance her speed output.

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker skidded to a stop at the end of the hanger, starring at the vapour trail she'd left behind, the white flames of her twin engines the only thing they could make out against the toxic horizon before they too blinked out of sight.

The twins exchanged a look before Sideswipe spotted one of the smaller Transport ships.

"C'mon bro." He mumbled, hoping the still dazed guards didn't try to stop them.

Sunstreaker quickly clued into what he meant, the twin bond helping with that, he knew then that Sideswipe wanted to go after he, he was worried for her safety, and he didn't want something bad to happen to her after she'd bolted out of there with a look in her optics like she was facing offlinging itself.

* * *

Nova herself only had one thing in her processor, repeating time, and time again on a loop, internally she was slamming against the locked tight ends of her family unit, wanting nothing more than to feel their presence against her own spark, they had closed up their sides of the bonds at some point during the battle, and it was only when she was back to normal after the battle, that she realised something was horribly, terribly wrong.

And she didn't know what it was.

She didn't even stop once she reached the damaged base which she'd called her home for the vast majority of her life.

The base was clearly badly damaged, and she could easily spot Decepticon troops retreating on the horizon.

But she didn't even bother acknowledging the retreating troops as she transformed, her clawed pedes screeching again as she skidded to a half stop so that her momentum took her rocketing through the entrance, only for her thrusters to engage a moment later again and send he rocketing forwards down the corridor.

Shouts came from anyone who passed, only, unlike before, they all tried to stop her, reaching for her and trying to pull her to the ground, trying to stop her from seeking out her family unit, and it only madce the dread she was experiencing within her spark grow ten-fold.

Finally, she was stopped when two large, burly black with red decalled arms wrapped tight around her middle just before she reached the med bay, pinning her to their front as she continued to struggle and screech, reaching for the door that her spark screamed held her loved ones confined within.

"RUNT! STOP IT!"

The old nickname froze her in place, her helm falling limp for a moment along with the rest of her frame before she weakly turned her helm around to take in the slightly banged up and scratched frame of her sire, who was holding her to him in a death grip worthy of a combiner.

"S-s-s-sire..." She whimpered, before she somehow spun in his tight grip and wrapped her arms around his nackcables in a death grip, not a moment later she was shaking. "W-w-w-why... why'd you close the bonds opi?! WHY?!" She begged, her wails loud enough to be heard throughout the base.

Ironhide didn't answer right away, turning his worried optics to his mate, Chromia was right at his side, running a servo down along her adopted creations side. "We... we didn't want you to get distracted with your own fight." He tried to explain.

Nova just buried her helm deeper into his chassis. "Never... never do that again."

Chromia's faceplates fell into a small, sad smile as she moved to wrap her arms around her creations middle, her and her mates bonds opening back up and allowing Nova to just absorb ever drop of love and care they fed to her.

This lasted for some time, all other previous occupants of the corridor/waiting room leaving to give the family unit their much needed reunion.

After she was a bit more content though, Nova pushed back, and looked around them. "Where's Bee? Why can't I pick him up now?"

Her creators tensed, Chromia letting off a choked sob as Ironhide gripped Nova closer to him.

It didn't take a 'Bot with Que's level of inteligence to know where her brother was.

"N-n-no... tell me he's okay! Tell me!" She cried, banging her servo into his chassis.

Chromia shook her helm. "Inferno found him, Megatron captured him... Ratchet is doing all he can to make sure he survives... but... he still might... so brace yourself Nova..."

Those last four words... put a fear in her spark the which she hadn't felt since the day her creators pushed her from their home within that skyscraper, the sheer fear for her younger brothers life, not her life, his. "No… no… no, no, no, nonononononononono! He can't! He can't offline!" She wailed, gripping tighter to her sire as he did the same, along with Chromia as she did her best to hold her daughter from behind without getting too badly whacked by her daughters rattling wings.

This continued on for some time, Ironhide and Chromia having moved at some point during so that they could all sit on a wide bench outside of the med-bay, Ironhide holding his worrying mate in his right arm as she continued to try and soothe their beside herself creation over the bond, all whilst the large black and red decalled mech stared at the locked door of the med-bay where his son lay, his bond closed off so that he and the two femmes of their small family unit couldn't feel the pain he was in.

He felt his own spark pound furiously, cursing out the one who'd done this to his son, the mech in question, none other than the Tyrant himself Megatron.

Bumblebee had been scouting out an overpass ahead of his unit when he was captured four joors ago.

He'd been found only a joor ago, his frame beaten in and his helm very nearly severed due to the injury in his neckcables.

His spark had barely even flickered, but now, even though the tight block, he could feel it slowly recovering, but even then, he could barely feel it at times before it was jarred back.

It was all he needed to know to work out what Ratchet and his medics had to do to keep his youngling online.

They remained there for another half a joor before Sideswipe and Sunstreaker wheeled round the corner, skidding to a stop though before they even reached the small family unit.

It didn't take a genius to work out where the youngest member of the group was, why Novalight had flown out of Simfur like Unicron was on her aft, and that they had to tread carefully if the absolutely murderous glare Ironhide was sending their way meant anything.

Sideswipe slowly moved closer, once he reached the three he crouched down and placed a servo on Novalight's shoulder plate. "Hey, Novie? Wanna… wanna go to the shooting range?" He asked slowly, not sure if he was doing it right, before he'd become such close friends with Novalight, he'd only ever had to deal with Sunstreaker, and there he had the bond to use to his advantage, as he'd learnt with Novalight, such a trick wouldn't work due to the lack of any sort of bond, meaning he'd had to learn to tread carefully around the femme, especially when she was in emotional turmoil, it had only happened a few times, but after his first botched attempt, he'd sworn never to enrage her like that again.

She turned her helm to face him, showing the rivers of lubricant running down her faceplates as her vents hitched as she nodded.

Before any of them could move though, the doors to the Medbay slid open, all optics snapped to Ratchet as he walked out a distressed look marring his faceplates and causing dread to form deep within all five of the ones waiting outside.

"I… I did all I could… but… Bumblebee… he will likely never be the same…"

Novalight pried herself from her sires now limp arms, raising on shaky pedes so that she could grab the CMO by both shoulder plates, looking into his optics with a look of kindling hope. "But he's gonna live right? He's still alive? He's still my little brother… I don't give a frag if he can't even walk anymore Ratchet!" It surprised all of them how calm she was, even more so when, with the speed she was famous for, trapped the CMO in a tight hug. "You saved my little bro, just like you did when he first came in, thank you… can… can we see him?" She asked tentatively, pulling back before he could even react and hug back.

Slowly he nodded, but when she went to bolt inside, he stopped her, grabbing her shoulderplate this time, causing her to still instantly. "He's in induced stasis, he won't be waking up until I deem his spark strong enough to support his frame again, and do not touch the life support system, if there's any fluctuations, call one of us." He listed off.

Novalight stared at him for a moment, before nodding her tri-colour helm. "Understood uncle Ratchet, I'll keep that in mind."

She strode in then, quickly followed by her creators, when the twins went to follow though, the door closed on them, causing them to whip around on their wheels to look at the CMO.

"There's multiple injured bots in there at the moment trying to rest, so for now, only they will be in there, seeing as they are directly related." He didn't say the final reason, but they knew what he was implying, and with synced huffs, the moved the sit on the bench facing the door.

With a sigh Ratchet sat down on another bench facing away from the Med-bay. "You followed her all the way from Simfur?" He enquired.

They both nodded. Sideswipe being the one to answer. "She was acting funny after the battle, then without a word she bolted out of the base… we would've gotten here sooner, but all the nearby landing pads are well… rubble… "Sideswipe stated.

Ratchet nodded, but the frown on his faceplates remained. "Why did you follow though? I thought you Sunstreaker, hated her."

Sunstreaker grumbled something under his vents before transforming his arms, revealing the blades that Novalight had custom made for him. "She's… proving difficult to hate at the moment…"

Ratchet raised an optic ridge at the mech before turning to Sideswipe. "And you?"

Sideswipe shrugged. "Already said it, I love that femme, sure, she's paintbombed our berthroom and scared our sparks to the point of almost moving out of our frames, but, she's just… Primus, there just aren't the words…"

Ratchet's frown furrowed deeper as Sunstreaker scowled at his twin. "You're well aware that for twins to mate, both have to agree…"

Sideswipe sighed, shooting his golden twin a look before nodding. "Yeah… we know…" His tone was almost distressed as he moved to brace his elbow joints on his legs, starring at the ground just ahead of his now entwined servos. "But Sunny just can't let go of his stupid grudge."

Sunstreaker scowled and shifted his new blades back in place. "And I won't until she's apologised!"

Sideswipe's helm snapped back up to glare at him. "She has apologised! Six times Sunny! That's why she made those stupid blades for you! To give you physical proof! I was right next to you ever time she attempted to apologise! And every time you just brushed her off with a glare! Sunny! You… you… GAH! I cannot deal with this right now!" With that he rose to his pedes and stormed away, slamming his end of the bond shut so that his twin couldn't feel anything except the lingering feeling of the rage which had just struck him.

Ratchet watched Sunstreaker carefully as the gold mech rose up to his own wheeled pedes, drew the blades, and cut a long and deep 'x' into the wall opposite the med-bay with a snarl.

"You favour her blades?" He mumbled, not expecting to have an answer given.

Sunstreaker locked up, starring down at the long wrist blades which continued beyond his servos in their elegant curves.

He just stared at the for a few moments, frame tensed before his form relaxed with a slow vent of air.

"They're… the best I've ever had… they produce the finest cuts… clean, no jerking, I sliced through a brute like he was a single strand of wire… but… these don't… don't… I don't know…"

He didn't notice the slight gap between the med-bay door and the wall, or the single swirling blue optic which peered through, having heard the commotion outside.

Ratchet sighed. "Why do you try to hate her so much?"

Sunstreaker growled. "She… she's just… so… so… oh who am I kidding… I don't hate her Hatchet… I'm… scared of her…"

Ratchet's jaw almost fell loose, the nickname all but left alone. "Scared? Of Novalight? Sunstreaker…"

"I'm scared she's going to get between me and Sides! That's what I'm scared about! She… he… he genuinely cares for her, I don't know how… I don't know why… or what he sees in her! Whenever we're near her, he… he just… what he feels… I don't… all he want's to do is tell her, and have her believe him… but I… I don't feel what he does!?" He exclaimed.

He probably would've continued, had something not crashed into him from behind and two arms wrapped around what they could of his chassis, digits only just entwining in the process.

"It's okay Sunstreaker… If you want… I'll say it again, I'm sorry, sorry for the pranks and the mistreatment I gave you when my pranks went too far… please don't think I intentionally want to split you apart, you're some of the closest friends I have, and seeing you two fight like this just makes me feel… I don't know what… so please, accept my apology and end this petty squabble."

Before he could respond, she'd turned around and walked back into the medbay to return to her younger brother's berthside.

Ratchet turned back to look at Sunstreaker, the gold mechs back strut still facing him, but now, his arms hung limp at his side as his pedes shook slightly.

After a moment he jerked round to face the already closed door, his faceplates holding a genuinely shocked expression.

"You… I… she didn't need to apologise…" He mumbled out.

Ratchet huffed, done with all the drama outside of his med-bay, pushing off his bench he moved to walk down the corridor towards the temporary barracks, seeing as his and many others own berth rooms had been completely destroyed during the final attack. Sunstreaker remained there, starring in shock at the door.

* * *

Within the med-bay, Novalight sat perched on the small ledge that had been installed for her, allowing her to peer down at her little brother as he remained hooked up to life support, it was evident that Ratchet and the other medics had done their best, but it was also evident that the supplies needed for a complete patch up, simply did not exist, as evidenced by the fact that the area where the main storage cabinet had been, had been taken out by a mortar round to the side of the building, leaving a gaping hole filled by a shield generator as a replacement quick fix wall.

Her creators were resting against the berth Bumblebee laid on, her dani sitting in her opi's lap as they comforted one another, Novalight would join them, but her thoughts were too plagued to allow her to unwind with them, hence why she remained vigilant on her perch.

The main reason for it being the twins.

Why she'd just acted like that and apologised to Sunstreaker, for the seventh time, was beyond her, but, when she'd heard how lost he'd sounded, she'd just wanted to hug him, especially after hearing that he was actually scared for his and his twins bond being at risk because of her.

She wasn't sure why Sideswipe stormed off though, having only heard what was going on through the thick door as he was storming away.

With a near silent groan she gave up on trying to understand those two, she apologised for the last time to that mech, hopefully seventh times the charm with the mech.

She didn't want this strain on their friendship to get lost.

Tilting her helm down she gazed at his little brothers closed optics, feeling her spark stall and guilt grip her.

If only she'd known… if only she'd known he was in trouble… she could've made it in time to save him.

Sure, she would've had to of fight Megatron, but, she would've if it meant her little brother would've gotten out of this mess unharmed.

She would've given her own spark for that.

Deciding to distract herself from such thoughts, she drew the swords she was making for Sideswipe from her subspace, shifting her pointed digit into a small medical grade welder so that she could continue, she'd had the CMO at Simfur give her this upgrade so that she could work on her projects with a far higher level of accuracy, and it was paying off.

She lost track of time as she continued to work, thanking Primus she'd had the tank feeling to take all her tools and materials out of her temporary workshop and keep them with her so that she could work on them whenever she had a moment free.

Every so often though she'd turn her attention to her family unit, her carrier and sire now in recharge, with Chromia leaning against Ironhide's chassis and one of her servos reaching at an odd angle to wrap her digits around her little brothers limp servo.

She didn't fall into recharge for a good few more joors, keeping focused on her work, but eventually, the lack of refuelling that cycle and the sheer speeds and other strenuous activities she'd done throughout the battle and the flight to Iacon, finally caught up with her, and without warning, she simply slumped backwards against the corner her perch was in, her welder tool flickering out and leaving the second of Sideswipe's blade almost finished.

* * *

It took some time for Sunstreaker to locate his twin, the corridors were all but demolished in some places, mostly from what he assumed to be mortar fire.

Ash and debris littered the ground his pedes wheeled over, throwing up a light cloud behind him as he had to swerve to avoid larger clumps of sharp metal and torn tiling which collected in piles.

He was in too much of a rush to notice how by simply passing through these destroyed and near abandoned corridors, his armour had become even worse off than it had been straight out of the battle at the Simfur base joors before.

Eventually though, he found his red twin, sitting, staring up at the toxic smoke which filled the sky, on the roof of the base, right next to where a good portion of it had seemingly been blown out.

At any other time he would have wondered how so much damage could have happened in the space of time that the battle had occurred in, but he had noticed something, the hole which his twin was sitting next to and blatantly ignoring, had been blown outwards, the metal warped and distorted, and the way the area within had collapsed in on itself, left little to the imagination as to what had happened.

"There was a traitor… But they're offline now, they took themselves out with that blast, and severed all the communication relays, that's why the SOS didn't go out."

The words left his twin in a monotone, not even regarding the hole. "Nova sat there once, you know, after that battle where I got my arm ripped off, and she got shot down… she didn't give a Scraplets aft about flying with only three working wings, you remember that right?" His voice was lighter now, reminiscent.

Sunstreaker nodded, moving to sit down on his opposite side of his twin to the hole, taking note of the different faded colours which littered this part of the roof, the memory of his twin returning to their quarters with so many colours on him, that he looked like the walls of Novalight and Flareup's favourite training room after they'd been in there for a few joors. "You really are enamoured with her, aren't you…"

Sideswipe nodded, letting off a slow vent as he reached over and grasped his twin by the shoulder plate and shook him from side to side slightly. "It ain't an infatuation Sunny, it really is love, we've known her for vorns… and whenever I'm close to her, I just want to… to… to hold her and never let her go, whenever she gets hurt I fret until she's up on her pedes again and causing havoc in a way she seems to of perfected… why do you think I signed up for transport to Simfur the moment I heard that she was being shipped out…"

"Wait! That was you! I thought… You said Prowl was trying to get rid of us three so that he could get some work done!" Sunstreaker exclaimed, moving so that he could whack his twin over the helm. "Last time I believe you a 160%." He groaned.

Sideswipe chuckled. "I'm surprised you bought that with how little you trust me anyway, well, when it comes to stuff I say."

Sunstreaker rolled his optics before reclining back so that he lay against the cold roof, quickly by Sideswipe. "We're getting off topic… so, you ain't gonna blow up at me for not liking Nova like that?"

Sideswipe shook his helm. "Nah, I know you're as blind to your emotions as Nova and the rest of the demo squad is to hazard signs."

"They're not blind Sides, they just don't give a Scraplets aft about losing limbs in the name of carnage and shaking the base they reside in off its foundations."

"Good point." Sides chuckled, pausing as if waiting to hear the sound of an explosion come from within the base, followed by the groans of the other residents and exclamations that no one was offline by the members of the demo squad involved with the most recent wakeup call/energon rush inducing base shaker.

But the sound didn't come, the base was like a ruin, nearly abandoned due to how much damage it had taken.

Sunstreaker nudged his twin's side. "Back on topic Sides."

Sideswipe sighed. "I know… it's just… I keep, remembering that lunar cycle, when we both leaned in… how soft those golden lips of hers were… and how she punched me in the faceplates and threatened to offline me if I didn't explain myself… heh, she leaned in too… but, you're right, this is meant to be about how your scared… that she'll tear us apart… Sunny… you know as much as I do that's not how the Sparkmate bond works, it's meant to bring all involved closer together, not further apart…"

Sunstreaker sighed, pressing the palms of his servos into his faceplates for a moment. "I… I know that Sides… but I don't feel what you feel! And it makes me worry… if… I don't end up ever loving her, I'll only make you feel worse in the end by raising your hopes up… Sides… I can't help but worry that she ain't the one, and that you're just letting your hopes get the better of you… I don't want to see you spark broken Sides…" He admitted.

Sides rumbled his engine for a moment in thought before moving to sit up again. "Does Nova really act like the kind of femme who'd purposefully break someone's spark, sure, she's psychotic on the battlefield due to the coding she has, or when someone slags her off, but, we've known her for vorns Sunny, she ain't that kinda fem… that's one of the reasons I like… love her." He sighed. "Hopefully, someday, you'll feel the same way, without needing the bond to feel what I do…"

Sunstreaker nodded, rolling upright as well and stretching and checking his internal chromemeter. "It's getting late, c'mon… I feel exhausted…"

Sideswipe nodded, the two helping each other up as, in synch, they pressed their helms together, something they used to do as younglings in the Pits, to show that they were still there for one another.

Then Side's pulled away first, a worried look on his faceplates. "Can we go check on Nova first? Her little bro is in emergency stasis… as her friends, we should be there for her."

After a moment of thought Sunstreaker nodded, sure, he didn't see Novalight as his twin did, but the femme had been there, in her own weird way, supporting them, and she'd shown she at least saw them the same way if the swords and saving them from their pranking victims was anything to go by, he would admit, she was a good friend now that he thought over all the times she'd saved, helped and supported their sorry afts.

"Alright, let's go check on the femme."

* * *

Medbay

Neither of the twins was sure what to think when they came across Novalight, strewn across the floor, wings in the air and the remains of her perch and what looked to be the blades she'd been working on for Sideswipe laying underneath her, thankfully not cutting into her.

"Looks like her perch gave way…" Sideswipe whispered, not wanting to stir anyone else in the room, but then again, if they'd recharged through Novalight falling to the floor from a perch, then they were all either under the influence of chemicals, or in her creators case, simply in too deep a state of recharge, for a firefight or combiner all out brawl to even stir them slightly.

Sunstreaker nodded, taking note of the large web like crack which had formed along the area her perch had been. "She must have fallen into recharge before it gave way…"

Sideswipe turned his attention back to the femme, bending down he grabbed her right arm and easily lifted the femme up into a vertical position, with his other servo holding onto her opposite hip for support as he pulled her arm over his shoulder and held it with his other servo. "Let's get her to the rec-room… it's one of the few places which wasn't so badly damaged, and we haven't checked our own room… probably in rubble."

Sunstreaker was too tired to argue, moving to activate the door so that his twin could wheel out of the damaged by somehow still functioning med-bay, having picked up his twins in progress swords and leaving them instead on the berth side table next to the yellow and black stripped mech that was Novalight's younger Praxian brother.

The journey to the med-bay was held in relative silence, the odd recharge laden mumble from Novalight being the only sound as her clawed pedes lightly brushed against the odd pile of debris which was high enough to tap them.

When they reached the room, the lights were all dimmed, the odd bundle of someone recharging evident, those who were here likely faced the same problem as them, more than half of the quarters had been destroyed, and a good portion of Iacon was also in ruins, so those left quarter less, had to make do with anything they could find.

Thankfully though, one of the sofa's was left unused, the twins quickly claiming it with Sunstreaker sitting on one side, he let off a quiet and irritated grunt though when Sideswipe set Novalight down in a way that caused her to slump against him, still in recharge, as Sideswipe sat down as well, after a moment though, he shifted, laying his helm down onto her lap and letting his pedes hang off the other side of the sofa.

"Side's, what the frag are you doing?!" Sunstreaker hissed quietly.

Sidseswipe shrugged minutely. "She's comfy… oh scrap, I think she's waking up."

Before he even finished her swirling blue optics had flickered one, the centres unfocused and remaining so as she sighed and snuggled deeper into Sunstreaker's side. "S-side's? Wha… what's goin' on?"

Sideswipe let his engine rumble at a low tone in an attempt to lull her back into recharge, but she seemed to be fighting it as she reached into her sub-space and drew a medium sized rectangular box. "Can… you give this to Sunny? I… bought it from a trader… in Simfur… after you told me he liked… Painting… and he hadn't been able to find any…since the war started… thanks Sides…"

Her helm rolled back to rest against the now stunned gold mechs shoulderplate, the femme seeker clearly unaware of who she was laying against.

She didn't stop talking though. "Maybe… if we ever meet again… he can… teach me… 'cause I wanna draw… but I… ain't tha' good… and… we… 're being… separated…" In the barely lit room they barely caught the lubricant pooling under her optics.

Sideswipe acted on impulse, sitting up and placing the rectangular box down next to the sofa, instead taking the sides of her helm in his servo and making it so that he could lock optics with her, but she was already back in recharge, and the lubricant had stopped forming.

After a moment of just staring at her faceplates, he looked over at his baffled twin. "Separated?" He murmured quietly.

Sunstreaker didn't respond, already going through the exodus roster which had been sent out whilst he was looking for his twin earlier.

He didn't have to look far; the groups had been all allocated.

And Novalight was going with her sire and younger brother… with the Prime… to one of the furthest quadrants of the charted Universe in hopes of locating a safe new world to colonise.

And he and his twin were going in nearly the opposite direction.

The two mechs looked to one another as Sunstreaker sent his twin the highlighted areas, watching as his optics widened, snapping down to the femme sitting between them.

Within a moment, his arms where locked around her, his armour rattling quietly as his vents hitched. "No… Not yet… I wanna tell her…"

Sunstreaker let out a low keen himself at the prospect, the thought of not seeing the bubbly, explosives prone femme again caused something in his spark to freeze almost, halting all processor function except on the simple fact, that there was a high chance; they'd never see her again.

The twins exchanged a glance before Sideswipe ducked his helm slightly and pressed a chaste kiss to Novalight's forehelm, before resting his own forehelm against hers. "Primus why us?"

Sunstreaker let off a distressed sigh. "I don't know Sides… but, if she really is the one, we'll see her again… we can't not… Primus isn't that cruel… I hope…"

Sideswipe didn't answer, shifting instead so that he could drape Novalight's upper half onto his lap, caging her in place with his arms and his legs sprawled out across the floor next to his twin.

Sunstreaker paused, after a moment of thought he picked up her pedes and lower half and draped them over his lap as well, then leaned in against his red twin, the two of them watching the exhausted femme they had in their laps for a while longer, before recharge claimed the two of them.

* * *

 **Please don't come at me with pitch forks and torches! This had to happen!**

 **Ok, I'm gonna get out of here and start work on chapter 9 as soon as possible so as to avoid the potential lynch mob, ok? That sound good? Yeah, I'll get right on that, until next time everyone!**

 **Moon +Lunar**


	8. Muddled farewells

**Oh this was a long one, chapter 9 is still underway, but I wanted to get this one out for you lot to see, you are gonna both like and dislike me after this one, trust me. Anyway, normal disclaimers are the same, Nova is joint owned by myself and Lunarburst23, OC's you don't see in the shows are ones I come up with, and so on and so forth, now then, I'd like to announce that myself and Lunarburst23 have been working on effectively combining two of our fics, Shrouded Origins, and Extinction isn't always forever, just wanted to mention that, it's something we've put a lot of work into and so, without further adieu, enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 8

"Easy bro… easy there… careful of that tile, I think it's a little loose." Novalight muttered out, optics darting to her younger brothers shaking pedes and her younger brother's irritated faceplates. "Hey… it could be…" She muttered, wings fluttering as she kept her servos gripped tight around Bumblebee's arm joints, helping stabilise him as he continued to walk forwards for the first time since coming out of emergency stasis.

Chromia patted her daughter on her shoulderplate. "Nova, I'm worrying less that you, Bumbelbee can handle himself…" Not a moment later Bumblebee's pedes gave out, causing him to fall forwards, mouthplates open to cry out, only for nothing to leave them as Novalight quickly caught him, arms wrapped under his shoulder joints and under his doorwings as she in turn shot her adopted carrier a look. "Or he could need your help for a while… or ours." She offered, stepping forward with open arms.

Bumblebee looked up to his sister then, tilting his helm to the side before wincing at the pain which shot from his still healing over throat cables when he pulled the welds just that bit too much.

Both his sister, adopted carrier, and even Jolt picked up on his wince as Novalight quickly corralled him back to the chair he'd been sitting on prior. "Easy bro, don't want yah tearing those suckers." Novalight mumbled as she moved back to allow Jolt to check over the Praxian's neckcables where the patch was.

"No tears, but Ratchet wasn't joking around Bee, you can't move your helm too much for a while until that patch can come off. Nova… Chromia… I'll send him to you guys about three joors before you guys leave… it… was nice knowing you, stay safe… and keep my last patient on Cybertron safe Nova." The blue medic declared once he stood back up.

Chromia gave him a loose salute before walking out, leaving Novalight to stand there for a moment before grabbing the slightly larger blue medic by the shoulderplate and giving him a firm hug, but to the mechs surprise. "You stay safe, don't do anything I would do ok?" She responded, patting the mech on the back strut once before pulling away, shooting her brother a warm look which he copied, before walking out of the room, wanting to go on one last flight before she left her home world, likely for good.

The thought was weighing heavy in her spark, sure, she'd been off Cybertron before, but never outside of her home worlds solar system, and now, she was heading with her sire and brother, to another galaxy, far, far away from the place she grew up and learnt how to thrive in war.

The flight wasn't what she'd hoped for, everything she saw just kept on nailing home the fact that she couldn't stay, Iacon was in partial ruin, Tyga Pax, where they'd found her little brother, was just scattered rubble. Tagen Heights and the factories there were levelled.

This continued on, her speed allowing her to navigate around the cities she'd called home through her life when she would visit on missions.

She stopped at Simfur, giving Steelwell and Heavyhaul her good byes, Steelwell had very nearly crushed her with the hug he gave her, and Heavyhaul gave her all the data she'd compiled in the labs of Simfur over the four orns she'd been there.

A few others also bid her good bye, including the bases leader Sirograd. The normally battle scared mech giving her a small sad smile as he too bid her good bye.

She even got a spanner to the helm from one of Ratchets former students, Cogwheel, the femme even threatened dismantling her if she ever found out Nova had done something stupid. Which every bot there knew was bound to happen.

By the time she felt like she'd seen all she needed, her spark was fully convinced this would be the last time she ever set pede on her home world, and so, she returned back to Iacon, only a joor before Bumblebee would be released and the final preparations would be made for take-off.

For a while, she did similar to what she'd done on her flight, simply roam around the half destroyed base, those who she found that she knew she wasn't going with, where greeted with a crushing hug and near desperate plee to stay safe, this had been her routine whenever she wasn't helping Bumblebee in med-bay, finding those she held close and making sure they knew she would miss them, many of which returned the sentiment.

Half a joor before she had to get ready was when she stumbled across the Twins, or really, they found her.

Not a syllable was out of her mouthplates before she was yanked into their former room, the occupant who'd been staying there whilst they were in Simfur apparently already gone, all that was left was the two berths which the twins had pushed together to make a far larger one.

"Sunny? Sides? What's wrong?" She asked, taking in Sideswipe's especially forlorn faceplates. "If it's about the swords I promised, I finished them, I was gonna… give… them…. Sides? Sunny? Seriously! What's with those looks?!" She exclaimed, wings clacking against one another as she took a step back at their impassive looks.

Sideswipe spoke first. "We… want to talk…"

For some reason that made Novalight feel like her internals were twisting as dread began to form within her. "About what? Did one of Sunny's blades fail? Is there something wrong with the transformation process? Damnit… I knew I should of used Hyka relay circuits, my welds must have been off somewhere if that was the case, frag, looks like I still need to perfect that craft… or just stick to cannons… but Prime uses blades, and there's Ratchet's saws, and sire only knows cannons, I need to keep practicing… I WHOA!"

She was cut off by Sideswipe pinning her to the wall behind her, a look in his optics, that, for the life of her, she couldn't understand.

"Nova… those blades are perfect, nothing's wrong with them, they cleared through those cons like as if they were molten slag." Sunstreaker spoke up, engaging one and taking a swipe downwards from where he stood, a shower of sparks leaving the blade as it sliced evenly through the floor, leaving a prominent gouge.

Novalight just stared at the mech over his twins shoulder plate before the irritation of her wings being pressed against the unforgiving surface took hold. "Sides… that's kinda hurting."

His optics widened slightly from where he'd been starring at her, almost frozen, quickly he pulled back, but only enough to take most of the pressure of her wings. "Now, what's with pinning me to the wall? I get that this is the last time we'll probably see each other but Mmph!" She was cut off by his lipplates slamming into hers and him using his entire frame to pin her to the wall behind her as her own arms tried and failed to push him away as her wide optics stared at his closed ones.

She went to punch him, thinking back to that lunar cycle two vorns ago on the roof of the base, but that was all in vain when his servo somehow managed to pin her own fist to the wall, and his other arm wrapped around her other side, pinning her other arm to her side.

It only lasted another moment before he finally pulled away and stared at her open mouthplates and wide optic look. "Oh Primus, Nova I… I didn't, I don't know what came over me!" He tried to apologise.

She didn't respond, reaching up and brushing the tips of her clawed digits carefully over the still slightly sore metal.

Sunstreaker glanced between the two before sighing and saying. "Yes you do idiot, you wanted to say good bye, and the player you used to be sprung up on you, forgetful aft." He huffed.

Sideswipe sent him a glare, but also pulsed his thanks for the cover up over the bond before turning back to Novalight, who'd now tilted her helm to the side in confusion as she stared at the two of them.

"Well… then… I guess… this is good bye…" Novalight finally got out, rubbing her upper arms awkwardly as she adverted her gaze from where the twins now stood.

Her helm snapped back to them however when Sideswipe punched himself in the side of his helm. "Stupid! Stupid! Primus I just made this way too awkward for it to be a possible conversation! … Can we start from the top?" She went to answer when he held a servo up and shook his helm. "No, this has to be addressed…" He sighed through his vents then before glancing at his twin. "I have to tell you the truth Nova."

Novalight shuttered her optics a few times. "Ok? Sunny… are you as lost as I am right now?"

The golden mech shook his helm. "Twins can't hide secrets from one another I'm afraid Nova."

Novalight huffed at that before turning back to the red twin of the two. "So… what has to be addressed exactly?" She asked with a raised optic ridge as she folded her arms over her chassis.

Sideswipe audibly gulped before composing himself. "Nova, you remember that lunar cycle on the roof, you know… the one where we…"  
"Kissed? Hard to forget my first Sides." Novalight inserted.

Sideswipe nodded. "So you also remember the fact that you decked me, threatened to shoot me, and then flew away so that the grenade you'd set off, would only cover me?"  
Novalight snorted, feeling a bit more relaxed at the thought. "Yeah, that was kinda spur of the moment that whole thing, wasn't it?"

Sideswipe nodded quickly, before rubbing the back of his helm. "Kinda wished you hadn't punched me though…".

Novalight shrugged. "That's what everybot claims after I deck them, or ram a grenade up there aft."

Sideswipe chuckled, but a shove over his twin bond told him to get to the point, apparently his twin was getting bored. "Not what I meant… Nova, I wish you hadn't punched me, because then I wouldn't have been so… stupid these last two vorns… I should have told you then… that I really do Love you."

The silence which followed was enough to make Sideswipe feel like something was squeezing the life out of his spark as Novalight starred at him, slack jawed and wide opticed. "W-w-what? Sides… I…"

Sideswipe held his servo up. "I don't know when joking went to actual love… but Nova… I know I care about you, more than anyone outside of Sunny! … Well, it more feels like a tie really, but still!"

He was halted by Novalight lifting up a servo for silence. "Sides, I know Sunny doesn't like me like that… and I know how twin bonds work…"

Sideswipe froze over, his optics remaining wide and locked on her as Sunstreaker shifted uncomfortably.

Novalight's locked on the movement. "I know you don't see me like that Sunny, you see me as a nuisance at best half the time, and the other half I can't even work out."

Sunstreaker froze at that too before exclaiming. "That's 'cause I don't know how to properly express myself sometimes! But… I don't see you as a nuisance, at least, not after I realised how good a friend you've been to us… the swords… they were the last thing needed to prove to my stubborn aft, that you are… the closest thing the a second sibling we've ever had."

Her wings visibly dropped behind her as Sideswipe slumped, the familial term ringing far longer through their helms then Sunstreaker had expected. "What I mean…" He was halted when Novalight moved and hugged his twin, not putting any damaging force into it like she was known to do with the other femmes on base and with her younger brother, but enough for his twin to easily feel it.

"Now isn't the time… if we ever meet up… when we meet up… we'll figure this out… but Sides, it wouldn't be fair to accept you, and not Sunny, if he can't feel the same, then that probably means I simply share traits with the one truly meant for you… and I don't want to put you two through that strain on your bond… so, how about this… stay safe, never do anything I would do in a dangerous situation… and look after each over ok?" She pulled back from the hug then, moving his partially limp arms from where their automatically wrapped around her middle in an attempt to pull her closer. "We all need to time to work this out… I know this doesn't sound like something I'd normally say… but I think we need to take our time with this… you know, work out everything… don't get me wrong you two, I care about both of you, your some of the best friends I've ever had, and maybe I am the one and it's just the fact that I haven't realised it yet and Sunny's too stubborn to do the same… you get what I mean here?"

They nodded in synch, before they both moved forwards and boxed her into a tight hug, Sunny being the first to speak from where his helm rested on top of hers. "You stay safe too… don't blow yourself up by doing something stupid… or on purpose…"

Novalight chuckled, nudging his chin with the top of her helm. "No promises, who knows what I'll do if I find myself eaten by a combiner, apparently that's the best way of getting out of one of those… would be awesome… come to think of it… why the frag haven't I done that yet?"

Sideswipe laughed from his spot resting his helm on her left shoulderplate. "'Cause your too fragging fast for them to even consider catching you!"

Novalight actually giggled. "Oh right! Damn… when we meet back up, we need to go for a race… nah… that's not really a fair race is it? Well, unless I fly at just above my stalling speed…"

The twins both rolled their optics at her rambling, Sideswipe effectively silencing her by a bite to one of the cables on her neck, followed by a quickly lick over the offended area, all of which drew a startled squeak from her at the unexpected feeling. "Sides!"

Sideswipe chuckled. "Just getting a taste for the long haul Nova."

She responded with kneeing the mech in between his pedes, causing him to groan and move one of his servos to the now stinging area. "Aww, c'mon Nova! Why couldn't you get me in the abdominal plating!"

Sunstreaker lightly swatted his twin, but Novalight was the one to answer. "Because that part of your anatomy is in direct line with my knee joint!" She responded with a smirk as she successfully squirmed free and grabbed the red mech and trapped him in a helm lock. "You'd rather I do this?!" She asked as she then rubbed her fist into the top of his black helm as she sometimes did with Bumblebee.

"Hey! Hey! C'mon Nova!" After a few moments she let go so he could stumble back slightly and rub the now slightly sore spot.

Novalight snorted and raised her fist towards Sunstreaker, who did the same, only instead of bumping them, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into another hug. "Thanks for the paints, how did you know they were of such high grade?"

Novalight raised an optic ridge at him. "They were? Huh… was wondering why they cost so much, I just thought it was the fact that that stuff costs a fortune even if it's cheap."

He shook his helm. "He could've so easily swindled you there… so, what's this about you wanting to learn how to paint?"

Her faceplates lit up in a fierce blue blush as she averted her optics. "Well… I kinda… I more like sculptures… you know… using scrap metal to make something, maybe something even meaningful… and well, never had the time with all the work I do fixing everybot's weapons and trying out Uncle Wheeljack and Granduncle Que's prototypes, and then there's training with Carrier and Elita, the gossip 'Cee likes to drown me in and…"

"You're rambling again Nova. I guess you think painting 2D would be easier to do in your free time?"

Novalight shook her helm. "Oh trust me, from experience with you, I know how long it can take, I just, want to expand my range."

He nodded, glad she wasn't completely ignorant even after all the conversations about painting which he'd thought had bored her into recharge… then again it was normally when she was on breaks, and the femme at this point was well known for flying herself into the ground. "Then once we meet back up, how about I give you a few painting lessons?"

Sideswipe nearly fell over himself he spun to face his golden twin so quickly. A glare from his twin shut him up though as Sunstreaker let go of Nova and allowed her to step back.

With a shake of her wings and a stretch she addressed the two mechs. "Well, I gotta finish packing, and something tells me you do too… and Auntie Flareup and Uncle Wheeljack still need to be located…"

Sideswipe chuckled and nudged his twin. "Doesn't take a mech with Perceptor's intelligence to know what those two disappeared off to do… one last round on the homeworld~"

Sunstreaker groaned. "You have no idea how tempted I am to slap you right now."

The sound of a door sliding shut drew them to the fact that Novalight was already gone, having apparently already headed off to do as she'd stated previously.

The two exchanged another look before Sideswipe let off a content vent. "I did it… I told her…"

Sunstreaker raised an optic ridge at his twin. "I thought you wanted her to leap into your arms and all that scrap?"

Sideswipe shot him a look before shaking his helm. "Sunny, that's not how relationships work, it's not like picking up a femme for the lunar cycle… and hey, she didn't leave a paint bomb or threaten to offline us, sounds like some serious positives to me." He responded with a shrug. "Can't ask for a better result at this point… well, except maybe another kiss…" He muttered degectedly.

Sunstreaker sighed. "Our groups leaving after the Prime's, we can go see her off if that's what you really want, and Ironhide's cannon up your aft as a bonus." He added.

Sideswipe shrugged, a grin on his faceplates. "I'd risk it."

Sunstreaker slumped somewhat before slapping his twin over the back of his helm. "Idiot."

Sideswipe just grinned at him in response.

* * *

Novalight nudged her younger brothers shoulderplate as they watched their creators embrace for the last time, the two of them not being able to grasp enough of one another as they performed quite the public display for the rest of those waiting to board the ship to see. "They'll be inseparable when we meet back up with carrier." She remarked.

Bumblebee rolled his optics, nudging her back with an equal shove over the bond.

Novalight chuckled. "Love you too little bro, so, how's the neck?"

Bumblebee stared at her for a few moments before shrugging and giving a 'so-so' motion.

Novalight couldn't stop the sad smile which bloomed on her faceplates, reminded once again of how brave her little brother was, having held out against the torture Megatron put him through… Just the thought of that tyrannical mech now caused waves of furry to palpitate through her, something her younger brother and creators picked up on; causing the latter two to finally break apart and move over to them.

Once they were in range Ironhide swiftly picked up his daughter, due to her lightly built frame, even as an adult, he still had no trouble holding her in the crook of his arm as he bumped his helm against hers. "We'll get that fragger some day, we all want a piece of that slagger." He rumbled, moving to pull his slightly shorter yet far heavier son into a hug with his other arm as Chromia managed to clamber up her mates back strut so that she could sit behind his helm, one pede draping over either side as she pulled her daughter into a fierce hug before pulling away and grabbing the sides of her daughters tri-colour helm, and Novalight found herself starring at her carriers now tear filled optics, something she hadn't seen before in all her vorns on base.

"Nova… me and your sire are so proud of you. You and your little brother. Promise me that you'll always make me just as proud of you as I feel now ok?" She declared as she pulled her into another hug as Ironhide did the same with both of the younger two members of the four strong family unit.

Novalight wasn't sure what to think for a moment, surprised at how emotional her carrier was getting. "Dani… it's only until we meet up again, Sires going with us and your going with Auntie Cee, Flareup and Elita, plus Uncle Wheeljack and Uncle Prowl, but… if that's what you want, then I'll make you proud, even if that means kicking Sire up the aft for you if he gets into one of his funks."

Ironhide scowled and lightly poked her side. "Runt, I do not get into funks." Bumblebee's silent snickering seemed to say otherwise though, as Novalight and Chromia quickly followed. "Alright! Maybe I get into a bit of a funk when I'm tinkering! But I ain't half as bad as you get young femme!" He growled playfully, before an idea reached him and he launched into a merciless attack of tickling his daughters abdominal plating, causing the femme to let off a startled laugh filled squawk as she jolted with such force that she would of fallen right out of sire's hold had he not had such a strong hold on her.

This continued for a while, those surrounding just watching the emotional sight of the small family unit's final moments all together, it was a sad yet at the same time cheerful moment as the four finally broke apart, Novalight being put back down on her pedes, Bumblebee moving to give his carrier a tight hug once she'd clambered down from her mate, and Ironhide pulling all three into one last tight hug.

* * *

A few breems later, Novalight and Bumblebee were working to push a dolly full of spare machinery up onto the starship which was to be their home until they found a suitable planet to settled on and colonise, if they didn't locate the Allspark that is, which by this point was likely already over a lightyear away and lost to the stars… except for Megatron, hence the sense of urgency which now surrounded the launch platform for the Aeriella-X9, Optimus' Private Starship.

The sleek white platting was lit by the search lights which passed over it at intervals, the ship its self was designed for long distance, the engines designed to be hyper efficient with its fuel, and, due to a bit of reverse engineering, it held the same Hydra Energy Drive that she'd been sparked with, which felt a little weird to Nova at first, but she'd since gotten over it, if it made the ship go faster when in atmospheres, then she wasn't going to complain.

"So… This is home… I am going to be bored out of my mind…" She grumbled once they'd pushed the dolly into place and fastened it down, stretching slightly and relieved when she felt something pop back in place in her spinal strut.

Bumblebee shot her a look, a frown etched in his face before one of guilt came over. One that, thanks to their sibling bond, although not as strong as biological sibling bonds, theirs was still strong enough for Novalight to be able to pick up on her little brothers turbulent emotions, primarily focused on his throat cables and the medical patches wrapped around it. "Hey now, just 'cause that fragger took your voice, doesn't mean we can't still have fun… I meant this place, although pretty big for just the… six of us, there is no way I'll be able to safely get up to speed in here… and I'll only be able to fly outside when we're one planets, you know, because we'd be moving through space and it's a waste of energon trying to keep up and have fun." She tried to explain.

"Sounds like you're gonna miss us more than you let on." Sideswipe's voice startled the siblings, having not been paying attention really to their surroundings.

Novalight spun round to face the twin mechs, Sunstreaker so far remaining silent, a verbal lashing for spooking her like that a moment away before Sideswipe's lipplates were on hers again.

Bumblebee's jaw, simply dropped, not being able to fathom why his big sister hadn't nailed the mech. After a moment a startled whine left him as air was forced from his vents, one of the only real sounds he could make now.

But the two still didn't pull apart, primarily because Sideswipe's servo had come round to hold the back of Novalight's neck cables, holding her in place that bit longer before he pulled away from her now blue flushed faceplates. "Yup, way worth sneaking on board for that." He remarked with a grin as his servos slipped down just next to her four wings, causing a shiver to run down her back strut, her wings shifting away from the lines that he had dragged down before his servos slipped under the lower two downwards facing wings and wrapping around so that he could pull her flush against him. "We're really gonna miss yah Nova. You stay safe ok?" He asked, tone now changed to a solemn, remorseful one. "You have no idea how much I wish I'd bucked up the courage to tell you back on that lunar cycle on the roof… but, better late than never right?"

Novalight's blush slowly receded as she stared gobsmacked up at him, finally though she was able to respond, leaning up slightly so as to give him a light peck on the cheekplate. "You sappy fragger. And I could say the same to you, don't do anything stupid that I wouldn't do… got it?"

Sunstreaker grunted. "Nova, name one time you haven't done something stupid whilst fully knowing it could possibly get you offlined."

Novalight just waved the gold mech off good naturedly as she spun, her wings giving her the leverage to pry herself from the red mechs hold. "Eh details, but seriously, if you two fraggers die and I find out I do have feelings for you, I will personally fly all the way back to Cybertron, dive into the Well, find your sparks, and… do something!" She exclaimed.

The two mechs looked to one another, then to Nova, and then to Bumblebee, the youngling looking a few moments away from glitching. After another moment of discussion over their twin bond, Sunstreaker stepped forwards. "You still have that fang you found?" He asked.

Novalight nodded, drawing it from subspace. "Oh course, it's my lucky charm, haven't been shot down since I found it… him… yeah, I think it was a him."

Sunstreaker gave her an odd look, before carefully picking up the dented and scratched piece of ancient metal from her clawed servos.

Novalight and Sideswipe watched on as Sunstreaker proceeded to drill a hole through the top of the fang at its thickest point, before looping a thick piece of painted red, gold and purple cables through it. Once he was certain it wasn't going to break, he drew a small chisel and proceeded to carve something into one side of it, and then the other. Once he was done he tied the edges and held it up for them to see.

"Ok, our designations… why did you do that to my lucky charm again?" Novalight asked in confusion.

Sunstreaker rolled his optics before moving forwards and gently turning her around so that he could place the fang on her upper chassis before placing the two ends of the cable together and allowing the clasps on either end to lock together, before letting go so that the weight of the fang could pull the cable up against the back of her neckcables so that the fang hung directly over where her spark chamber.

Sunstreaker then spun her back around, her optics locked on the fang before looking up at him with a look of shock. "Oh…"

Sunstreaker smirked right along with his twin. "Think of it as a bit of extra luck." He didn't mention the fact that it would also hopefully deter over mechs from trying it with her.

Yes he wasn't sure yet, but he was beginning to see more positives from pursuing Novalight.

A crash behind them signified that Bumblebee had finally glitched, unable to handle what he was seeing with his own optics.

Novalight chuckled, moving to pull her younger brothers frame up so she could half carry half drag him off to his quarters. "Well… thanks Sunny… so, I guess you two should probably get your afts out of here, don't need your ship to leave you behind."

Sideswipe shrugged. "I wouldn't put it past Prowl… One last kiss for the long haul?" He asked, pouting slightly.

After a moment she rolled her optics, leaning up again, only to have him pull her into something a bit more heated than she'd expected, his glossa finding its way into her cavern after a quick tweak on her lower left wing left her gasping.

She let him explore for a moment or so before responding back, albeit a bit hesitantly until he began coaxing her.

It was all jerked to a stop when Bumblebee slipped from her grasp and crashed to the ground on his side, jerking them apart as Novalight went to go pick him back up.

Sunstreaker was barely in control of his laughter for a good breem before he managed to speak. "Sides, next time yah want to kiss the fem, make sure she ain't holding anything up!"

"Oh shut up! You're just as bad you know!" Sideswipe snapped back before reaching out and giving Novalight a final hug. "See yah soon Nova."

She nodded back. "See yah, don't go get yourselves offlined on me."

Sunstreaker was quick to respond. "Just as long as you don't blow yourself up."

Novalight chuckled. "Oh you know I can't promise that, remember, you never know when a Combiner might finally catch me and I need to blow my way out." She responded with a smirk of her own.

With a roll of his optics he somehow managed to pull her and by default her still glitched brother into a tight hug. He went to speak, but a sudden black servo slamming into the back of both of them helms resulted in her lipplates unexpectedly cutting off whatever he was about to stay.

It only lasted a moment before the servos disappeared, along with the red frame those servos were attached to, allowing the two to quickly break apart with startled noises quickly drowned out by Sideswipes laughter.

Sunstreaker spun in an instant, quickly making chase on his own wheeled pedes after his twin, leaving Novalight to stand there gawking for a moment before shaking her helm and turning towards deeper into the ship so that she could drop off her younger brother, planning to check over his medical patches to make sure that the two falls hadn't done anything, again very much content with the fact that she'd actually paid attention to those lessons Ratchet had given her over the vorns.

* * *

The twins sped off the ship's main gangway not a breem later, Sideswipe leading his twin on a brief chase before Sunstreaker finally caught his twin, wrapping his arm around his red twin so that he could rub his own fist into the top of his helm. "The frag you aft!" He growled out. "Why in the name of Primus did you do that!"

Sideswipe just continued to laugh. "Admit it! You enjoyed it!"

Sunstreaker froze, not sure how to respond, thinking back to that singular astrosecond.

He had felt something… but it was just too brief to know what.

His twin picked up on it and huffed. "Well I tried, now… how about we head back over quick and…"

The sounds of powerful engines firing up then reached them, they spun within a moment, watching the massive plumes of smoke which rose from the exhausts of the Aeriella-X9 as it rose from its landing docks, the flames which where flowing out of the thrusters easily the size of a small housing unit each and growing fast when a low whine began emanating.

Not a moment later the Hydra Energy Drive on the ship kicked into full gear, and the ship was rocketing upwards at a speed which quickly decimated the sound barrier, before the ship simply disappeared through the thick toxic atmosphere, the blue fire from the thrusters and engines now a blazing white like Nova's own thrusters as the gargantuan ship shot away.

The twins watched all of this with dropped jaws.

"Primus above… is that what those Hydra drive things can do?!" Sunstreaker exclaimed, taking note of the the thick white smoke which was only now turning black as the particles they were made of cooled.

Sideswipe let off a low whistle. "That was one of the largest ships our side ever had… Primus and Nova's got one of those things in her… wow."

After a moment, they were reminded of who was on that ship, not long since disappeared from their view.

Instantly Sideswipe's previous awe, along with Sunstreakers, fell away, as realisation dawned on them.

"Sunny… that might just have been the last time we ever saw her…" Sideswipe mumbled… staring at the bit of the sky the Aeriella-X9 had pierced the thick cloud. "And I fragged it up…"

Sunstreaker looked to his twin before placing a firm servo on his shoulderplate and lightly pushing him towards the launch bay their own ship was on, ready to go. "C'mon… or else Prowl might just order to leave us behind anyway." He grumbled.

Sideswipe nodded and broke away from his twins hold so he could begin the quick skate towards the launch bay, his twin quick to follow, every now and then glancing at the launch bay and the surrounding supports which had held, and helped launch the ship which now carried their closest friend.

Without even thinking, they said their final goodbyes as they reached their own new homes gangway. "Stay safe, Novalight."

* * *

Aeriella-X9

Novalight however, was unaware of their sentiments, having been too preoccupied with unpacking to notice the shiver which had gone through her wings for some strange reason.

She glanced around her new room, it was pretty sparse due to it never having been used before, previously an extra guest room, but it still held its own private energon dispenser, desk, comfy padded berth, which she was already in love with, a private wash racks and small sofa and monitor which she could both watch shows she'd been able to record, which was quite the vast collection, and manage whatever work was thrown her way, namely new designs her and her sire might start work on if either one of them was struck by inspiration for something.

Her claws made quick work of the ties used to hold one of the crates, which currently cluttered her room, tops on, with a quick lift the heavy lid fell away, and she halted, taking in what was laying there.

"Scrap! I never gave Sides his swords! Oh this is just perfect!"

* * *

 **Well? Opinions? I should make clear, that Nova is currently as aware of her feelings, or future feelings, as say... not sure of a comparison, she kissed like it was a seal of a promise, ok? There's nothing major on her end of it yet alright? Well then, I've started my last year of school, work is going to hit me other the head like a ton of bricks, but I will do what I can to write for you guys as often as possible. So, until next time, see yah!**

 **Moon + Lunar**


	9. First contact, not so according to plan

**Alright! Chapter 10 is done (was a ton of fun, probably why it took so little time to get done) So, the first movie is starting this chapter, and as always, Nova ain't gonna do this discretely, I also want to focus more on her interactions with Bee, which, are like many sibling relations. Now, I should explain, that now that Nova's reached maturity, her ageing's slowed down, so she's a nineteen year old demolition maniac. But Bee's catching up with her at borderline eighteen because of this. So, without further adieu, let's begin! Hope you enjoy! Nova is owned in joint by myself and Lunarburst23, any other Oc's are my input, and everyone else belongs to Hasbro!**

* * *

Chapter 9

Three vorns later

Novalight sighed as she stared out the bay window which made up on side of her room, her frame leaning against the wall of the sill she had perched herself some time ago on, her wings preventing her from leaning back any further, but she didn't mind, too busy staring out at the stars which glinted on the dark horizon-less void.

Her room had long since been made to suit her, the odd metal sculpture she'd made littered around on the odd spare space, the rest filled with the data pads she'd spent a good portion of her time filling with random notes on the new designs her and her sire had worked on.

One of said continuous works, were Sideswipe's blades, without any way of getting them to him, Nova had fallen into the cycle of constantly trying to improve them it would seem, every orn she'd take them from where they hung crossed over her berth on a mantle on the wall, and would tinker profusely with them, always trying to improve them, the sharpness of the blade… how quick they are at going from blade to gun… how powerful a punch its rounds pack, one of the main things she'd worked on.

But she was running out of things to improve… without him being there with her to test run it, and the mounts not built to fit any of the others on the Aeriella-X9.

Done with starring out at the stars, she looks down at her lucky charm fang, picking it up between three of her digits and twisting it around so that the dim light which came from the engines on this side of the ship shone off the edges and groves of the twins and her designations.

"Those aftholes…" She mumbled, a sad smile on her faceplates as she began to reminisce on her fast passed youngling hood, filled with explosions, weapons, fighting, pranks, and a flurry of other stuff which just made it so much better.

Even after all this time though, she still couldn't figure out what she felt for the twins, yes she'd kissed Sideswipe, and unwittingly kissed Sunstreaker due to his twins intervention, but that was more to promise her side of the deal of staying safe, not, at least on her side, a sign of brewing affection.

Before her thoughts could traverse further, her front door let off a chime, without a thought she hopped off the window sill and made her way out of her private berth room and into the lounge room and quickly let the door open to reveal her little brother standing there.

He gave a slight wave as he walked in. _"Wanted to come check in on you."_ He sent over the bond, something which he was using a great deal more ever since his voice box was ripped out, the thought still made her curse internally every now and then.

"Eh, not really doing much today… You hear from Optimus about that Allspark signal we picked up four cycles ago?" It was why they'd changed course, locating the Allspark now their top priority, seeing as Megatron was likely still determined to follow after all this time, if he hadn't been eaten by some unknown space creature that is.

Bumblebee shrugged, moving over t6o the recliner couch that Nova had been able to acquire a few orns back from a traveling Kilomback Merchant, having apparently saved him from some unsavoury characters simply because of the fact that Nova was about three times larger than said unsavoury characters, who'd boasted a hasty retreat soon after her arrival and threat to unleash Spitter on them, them not knowing it was on the paint function.

But like everything else that Nova had, it had been tinkered with heavily, now having weapon storage under each padded cushion, which was a nice thing to have the last time the ship was attacked by seven stray cons, they'd mistaken the Aeriell-X9 as a neutral ship due to it not bearing any markings.

They'd quickly discovered their mistake when her, her sire and little brother charged at them from three separate corridors with cannons blazing.

It hadn't ended there though, as three off the seven were able to escape deeper into the ship.

One of which had successfully gotten Novalight cornered in her own living room, standing between her and the door out, which he'd managed to hack and lock.

There was no hesitation in what she did next, she'd drawn a stun grenade, pulled the pin, and slammed it with all her strength into the spot between his pedes, he'd had no time to react before he was immobilised, but it would only last for a few moments, it wasn't one of her stronger ones able to paralyse for over a joor, it had been the only one in her subspace at the time as well.

She'd dove for her new sofa, wretched two large pistols from where she had remembered she'd put them, and opened fire on his helm, emptying both cartridges in a matter of moments.

 _"_ _Sis? You're cycle –dreaming again."_ Bumblebee's mental words and shove over the bond knocked her back to the present and she shook her helm to dislodge the past, she'd been doing that a lot recently, thinking back, the time didn't matter, one moment she was thinking back to the cycle prior, others, she'd be trying to piece together the blur which was her sparkling and early youngling hood before her creators threw her from that collapsing skyscraper.

She still couldn't decipher why they did that, they'd never tried to protect her before… and she could only assume they'd thrown her through that window then to protect her from being crushed under rubble… but still, being thrown from that high up was also likely to of offlined her…

 _"_ _Cybertron to Nova! Pay attention!"_ This time he shoved her over the bond, accentuated with a physical shove, these two together, finally jerking her back to the present finally.

"Yah! Sorry Bro… been losing myself to thought a lot recently." She apologised, rubbing the back of her helm as she carefully observed her younger brothers irritation.

After a few moments though it fell away and instead turned to face the monitor. _"Got anything good to watch?"_ He asked.

Novalight shrugged. "Watched pretty much everything now… it really is boring being the only ones our age on this ship. Not that our elders ain't a blast to deal with." She adds.

Bumblebee rolled his optics at that _. "We passed a signal buoy a joor ago, we've probably got a few new shows and other stuff from that."_

Novalight perked up at that, snatching the remote controller that sat in its slot on her side of the sofa so she could turn on the monitor.

Only to find a video message logged there, from around the time they passed the signal buoy. "What the?" It had no sender address, only a title saying 'Guess who'.

Bumblebee glanced over at her. _"You gonna play it?"_

She shrugged. "Why not, the firewalls are strong enough to fight off Soundwave for over a joor, whatever malware this thing might be carrying won't stand a chance." So, she plays it.

 **"** **Hey Novie!"** It was Sideswipe, his grinning faceplates the first thing they saw.

Novalight huffed at the nickname, but the smile which formed on her faceplates at seeing the hyp0er red mech well was something which her little brother didn't miss.

 **"** **So, no idea when you're gonna get this sucker… but it's been… two and a half vorns since we all left Cybertron… so… hmm, oh what is it Sunny?"**

 **"** **Get out of my studio!"** They heard Sunstreaker yell from somewhere off camera.

 **"** **Oh fine! I thought you would want our best femme friend to know we're both still online!"** He walked out of whatever room he'd been in before, causing the vision to shake slightly. **"Damn hermit… anyway, how's life with all the old timers? I personally, have successfully made Prowl glitch 97 times already, and been brigged over 140 times… honestly that mech both has a pole way to far up his aft, and is out to get me… so, eh… any luck in whatever asteroid belt your likely having to dodge? Still breaking your own speed records? You guys still running a ship faster than the rest of the fleet combined because of those cute little pouches under your spark Que copied?"**

Bumblebee groaned. _"Oh gag me with a cube…"_ Nova responded with a light slap to the back of his helm as she continue to watch the now stabilised shot.

 **"** **Ok… down to business… firstly, we recently picked up this neutral fem, unfortunately we didn't get there in time to stop some sick cons from taking out her whole family unit… and low and behold… Solardancers out for mine and Sunny's sparks…"**

A sudden groaning sound had Bumblebee's attention snapping to the side of the sofa his sister was holding in such a grip it was beginning to strain the metal, and not a moment later a knowing look was on his faceplates.

 **"** **Yeah… I can assume you had some sort of adverse reaction to that, well don't fret mah little smokin' hot explosives maniac, we fully intend to kick her out of the air lock the first suitable planet we can find for her. Trust me, Sunny may still be an undecided aft, but I am firmly set on claiming you as ours the moment we meet back up okay? Oh scrap… running out of memory space, well, see yah Novie! Love you!"** And the call ended., pausing on his smirking faceplates for a moment before ending.

Novalight turned to her younger brother, him doing the same after a moment of scowling at the screen.

They chorused together. "What an idiot."

Novalight let off an irritated sigh. "Well, might as well respond… and I never packed a video camera… you?"

Bumblebee shook his helm. _"Never had one to begin with."_

"Perfect, oh well. A typed message will have to do."

* * *

Four orns later

"I hope you are both fully briefed in your mission then?" Optimus asked, looking between the two siblings.

They both saluted. "Yes Prime." Novalight answered whilst Bumblebee just nodded his helm.

"Very well… we will remain here on this world, locate any clue to the cubes location, and report your findings immediately. And remember, this Earth… its highest life forms have not reached father than their own solar system, they will not likely react well to your presence, remain in your alt modes, and try to draw zero attention." He ordered, glancing between the two.

Novalight nodded, activating her cloak for a moment before turning it back off. "They'll never know we were there."

Optimus nodded. "Very well, Nova, due to your speed advantage, you will arrive first, begin research, and remember, don't forget your holoform and remain in your scanned alt mode whenever there are humans in the area."

That last part threw Nova a little. "Err sir? I mean no offense to their race, but I severely doubt that these… 'Humans' have a vehicle mode able to sustain itself at the speeds I use just for ordinary transportation." She responded, all whilst Bumblebee, her sire, Jazz and Ratchet exchanged the odd glance as Optimus merely stared off towards where the planet Earth was barely visible, their own ship currently hidden in a large chasm on the planet, which to the humans, was called Uranaus, apparently the name had become part of the races assortment of jokes… One which completely flew over their helms.

They had arrived on the near frozen over planet a few cycles ago, using long range scanners to latch onto the Earths 'World Wide Web', trying to identify where the Allspark, which they'd traced to this planet was. However, as of that moment, they had had no luck.

Optimus pondered over Novalight's concern for a few moments before realising she was correct, the Human's air craft were unable to reach the speeds that Novalight used in combat, taking such a vehicle as her alt mode would put her at a sever risk on the battle field, and even when moving about the planet, the sheer speeds would easily draw attention to herself. "Very well Nova, remain in your present altmode, but, under no circumstances are you to drop your cloak anywhere in which humans may see you, now, stay safe you two." He finally declared.

Novalight and Bumblebee saluted again, both turning to give their sire a quick hug before Novalight activated her thrusters and shot towards the main exit of the ship, whilst Bumblebee made his way towards the launch deck.

Ratchet stepped over to Optimus' side. "Are you absolutely certain they were the best choice for the first wave?"

Optimus nodded. "I am certain Ratchet, you should have more faith in your niece and nephew." He responded, placing a reassuring servo on the medics shoulder plate.

"I just… I worry…" He admitted, but he wouldn't admit to the Human 'Sci-fi' vids that Novalight had found, he'd claimed he wasn't interested. Yet he'd still looked out of curiosity, what he'd found had deeply worried him.

Humans fear of the unknown, and impulse to destroy anything unusual, even when it was their own kind, worried him even greater, one slip up, and the two youngest members of the Autobot army, could be the most wanted beings on that planet.

"You watched those movies Novalight found, didn't you?"

Ratchet jolted at Optimus' claim, glaring at the mech as Jazz snickered somewhere off to his left. "Fine, I watched this 'Alien' one… the lead femme had some ball bearings on her."

The knowing looks from Ironhide and Optimus made him break after a moment. "Ok, I watched the Predator, Predator vs. Alien and a bunch of other ones ok! …E.T. was… cute I will admit… for something which looked right out of Shockwaves lab."

Jazz was having to support himself on one of the control rooms chairs just to prevent himself from doubling over from his laughter.

Ironhide snorted. "Nova's gonna taunt you senseless for that mech."

Ratchet whipped round to glare at Ironhide. "Oh?! Then what did you watch from the films that winged creation of yours gave you?!"

Ironhide's chassis puffed up. "Terminator, and Terminator 2 Judgement day, now those were films with a femme lead with ball bearings, not whatever prissy human femme your apparently so enamoured with."

Ratchet growled at the mech. "Oh? Alien's lead was a bad aft in both films! She offlined the Zenomorph Queen with an exo suit!"

"Ha! That Connor femme used a hydraulic press in the first! Then used a shot gun and a pool of molten metal the second time!"

Jazz was howling at this point, causing the two mechs to snap their attention to him. Ratchet being the one to snap at the TIC. "Well if you find this so hilarious, what did you watch?!"

Jazz snorted. "Killer clowns from out of space, and the Shining. Now that was some psychological 0horror, oh and invasion of the Body Snatchers." He responded.

Ironhide groaned. "Killer sparkling entertainers? Jazz, please. That second one isn't a Sci-fi film, and… I… ok, that screech might just beat out Starscream when it comes to most horrifying sound in the known universe."

There was a beat of silence before all three mechs responded with. "Nah."

* * *

Three human months later

Novalight hummed to herself as she shot across the desert landscape, her cloak fully engaged and engines silenced.

She was over some place called… Qatar, weird name, but a lot of human names were weird to her, she was currently hot on the trail of a Decepticon she'd tussled with on only a few occasions, Blackout, the mech was heading directly for an American Army base in the area, and something in her tanks told her he wasn't dropping by to preach good will and peace between Cybertronian and Human life.

She was, at present, staying out of his scanner range, her cloak was able to block scanners yes, but the mech was known for carrying electric shockwave generators, which she'd discovered during a fight in Polyhex, took out her cloak faster than she and Flareup could clear a training room.

Maybe she should give the little organics a helms up?

::Heyo heyo! Anyone there? Woo hoo?! Anyone alive in that little base down there?:: She commed, using a secured channel so as not to let Blackout catch wind of her.

:Ma'am, this is a restricted frequency wavelength, how did you hack this signal, and please leave before we send operatives to locate you and bring you in.::

::Restricted? Mates, you practically left the back door open, I got in about three seconds ago, just wanted to let you know that you might not want to be caught with you fabric leg armour down when that Chopper lands, he's not a very savoury bloke.:: She responded, trying to implement what she'd managed to remember of human dialect and phrases, yet something told her she'd forgotten something.

::Ma'am, state your name and what you mean by that.::

::Everybot calls me Lil' Nova, or Novie, or something of that degree, I'm a seeker, and well, the guy I'm referring to may or may not have the intention of massacring everyone in your little base. My guess for you data, so back up your harddrives, pull up your britches and get yah guns on the ready! … Actually, you guys probably don't have much of a chance in frag against him, just sit pretty and I'll give you a show… might actually look a lot like those Rocky Socky robot games you people have.::

Another voice interrupted then. ::Sir, that Choppers not one of ours…:: The rest was too quiet for her to pick up on. ::Miss Nova… you claim to have experience with this imposter?::

::Yup, oh scrap, he's arrived hasn't he?::

::Yes… the chopper just touched down…::

::GET DOWN FRAGGIT! GET DOWN!:: She then hacked into the bases sirens and loudspeakers. ::HUMANS! DUCK DOWN AND RUN FOR YOUR FRAGGING LIVES!::

Her hydra energy drive roared under to her spark chamber as she accelerated with the supercharged fuel, dropping her cloak and not even paying attention to the confused shoves she was getting from Bumblebee.

However, just before she hit the bases' perimeter, she slammed her breaks on.

She couldn't just blow her cover to one of the Planets largest military forces! Especially the one that had a habit of miss-treating visitors from the stars, if the movies were anything to go on that is.

So instead, she dived towards the ground, transforming into a short roll before coming to a stop behind a rocky outcrop, Blackout in clear sight as he began to lay waste to the base.

After only a moment, she drew two of her large, automatic Sonic Blasters from her subspace, he was facing away from her, and she was going to use that to her advantage, quickly she reengaged her cloak, deciding it better to make herself harder to hit, than avoid being perceived of as a threat, there was very little these humans could really do to her anyway, if they tried anything, then she'd be out of there faster than one could say 'Scraplet'.

Her frame quickly disappeared into the flurry of pixels, allowing her to jump up over the rocky outcrop, and open fire.

The rapid fire rounds quickly found their marks, slamming into his rotors and large back strut.

The mech spun almost immediately, red optics narrowing in irritation when he realised he couldn't spot his attacker.

At least until he realised who it most likely was. "Ah, so the Autoscums ghost seeker makes an appearance… you really think you can save these humans?" He snarled, firing off another round towards the main building.

She snarled, unloading a full cartridge at his faceplates, he was quick to react, using his arm armour to block the shots.

Nova used this to her advantage, drawing Spitter she shifted it to the flamethrower function, and quickly aimed for between his pedes.

The animalistic howl which followed had her smirking. "That answer enough for you, yah son of a Scraplet humper!" She almost roared, well and truly immersed in her battle craze.

Once he'd recovered enough, he charged at her, however, she was easily able to dodge without him even becoming aware of her changed location, leaving him to grapple air, and mid fall to the ground, she switched back to her Sonic Blatsers, the high rate weapons unloading at such a rate they looked more like a stream of glowing pellets, quickly pelting the mechs rotors.

With a roar he spun, and engaged his electro shock generators, seeing this, Nova bolted, blasting her thrusters as hard as she could to get away and protect her cloak.

But it still outpaced her, taking out her cloak and thrusters for a minute, leaving her to barely stick a landing on the shifting sand.

She spun round in time to see him charging her. "You can't pull that trick this time you glitch!" He roared.

She smirked. "Don't need to." She responded, pulling Spitter back out, and firing a spike grenade directly at him.

He rolled just in time for it to miss his helm, instead latching onto his thick shoulder plates, Detonating a moment later.

The resulting explosion engulfed the both of them, and a good portion of the surrounding base as the human soldiers continued to try and run for their lives to get away from the carnage.

The blast had been too close, and threw Novalight back somewhat, crashing straight through one of the larger aircrafts, sending up in ball of fire she would have normally marvelled in had the situation been different.

Pushing herself off the cluster of torn metal which had gone through the fuselage with her she groaned. "Not fun." She grumbled, trying to shake the dizziness from her helm, having banged it into something unforgiving.

Turning her helm round slowly she took note of the Tank, which now had a print made similar to the shape of her helm. "Oh perfect." She groaned, trying to push herself up, only to wince at the new dent in her wing, thankfully she'd had the thought to dull the pain receptors, hence why it was only a sting.

Thankfully it was only the tip of her top right wing which had been dented slightly.

Finally she pushed herself upright, and spotted a human laying haphazardly next to her, staring up at her with jaw hanging loose and wide eyes.

She flashed him an apologetic smile. "I think I miss-calculated that one. Here, let me help you up." She reached down, he began scrambling back, but wasn't quick enough to get away from her servo gently wrapping around him and lifting him up. "Designation's Nova, now, seeing as my cloaks gonna be out of use for a bit, could you, not tell the higher ups about me being here? Kinda meant to be incogni…to? I think that's the word, now, get your little aft in gear, and run for yah life!" She declared as she put him back down on his feet and pushed him towards a bunch of humans were, shouting at the both of them, the only reason they weren't firing was because she had one of their own in her grasp. "Now then… where's that fragger rattled off too?" She growled, picking up Spitter from where he lay on the floor, she really wanted to get this over with, so, she shot back into the now smoke filled air, gunshots surrounded her, and her wing was giving quite the complaint as she spun herself in the air, optic looking through Spitter's sight, something she didn't normally use, but with his heat sensitive function, it allowed her to spot Blackout reaching for the main computer hub of the base, she didn't however, spot Scorponok leaving the area via the underground due to the mixed signals all of the fire and smoke were causing.

* * *

Will Lennox was grabbed by one of his Units men the moment the giant robot had disappeared into the smoke filled air.

"Dude! We gotta move!" Epps yelled over the gunfire, trying to push his captain away from the area.

The man shook his head, trying to dispel all the questions now plaguing his mind.

"She… didn't try to kill me?" He mumbled, as he turned to run along with the rest of his small group, trying to get away from the now inflames base.

The sound of that strange gunfire picked up again, and they couldn't help but stop and watch as the vibrantly coloured, well, where she had paint on her, female looking one, was firing off round after round directly into the larger male one, who had to be twice her size easily.

He roared at her, throwing a fist towards her, she dodged just in time. "Stop dodging you useless piece of scrap!"

She chuckled, bouncing on her clawed pedes, before spinning and delivering a harsh roundhouse kick to his helm, sending him crashing into the base wall behind him. "Like that?!" She laughed, drawing a new weapon seemingly right out of her side, firing off large, rounds which broke apart to pepper the larger male one full of scatter shot.

Again he roared, pushing up from the wall and charging again. She couldn't get away in time, his metallic hand wrapping tight around what he would guess was her throat, and squeezing.

Her glowing blue eyes widened, her own clawed hands grasping at his, trying to pry them loose, legs kicking against him frantically and a panicked look in her eyes.

That was all Lennox needed to see, it was evident to him there were two sides in this, and that female one was trying to protect them as well as she could.

He spotted a grenade launcher in one of his mens hands, Fig didn't even hesitate to hand it over, allowing Lennox to quickly line up the sight, and fire directly at the male ones left leg.

The explosion knocked him off balance, sending him to the ground and allowing the female one… she'd called herself Nova he realised just then, to pry herself from his grasp and backflip upright again, lining up a new weapon, directly on his helm.

He growled, before slamming down something which exploded into a cloud of smoke, not a few moments of that odd metal shifting sound later, and the Helicopter form of the male one was rising from the clouds and heading west away from the area.

The female one was coughing as she stumbled out of the smoke cloud. "Son of a scraplet! Primus fraggit damnit all to the Pit!" She hissed, rubbing her optics to try and get rid of the residual smoke which had gotten into the sensitive sight organs.

Once they were clear enough to see through, she spun around, taking in the burning carnage of the base, and the dozens of scattered human bodies. "No…" She mumbled, kneeling down to take a look at one of them. "…Snapped neck… blunt force trauma… oh Primus… they weren't supposed to get involved in our war…" She mumbled, rising back to her full height and looking around again, before spotting them. "You… you survived… oh thank Primus!" She exclaimed, practically rushing over towards them, they reacted on impulse, guns levelled on her.

She jerked to a halt. "Hey! Hey! Guns down! I ain't gonna hurt you lot! I ain't no fragging Con!" She tried to placate, waving her unarmed servos at them.

Lennox starred into those wide blue metallic eyes for a moment before giving the signal to lower their weapons, which they hesitantly did.

He stepped forwards towards her, her in turn kneeling down with an awkward smile on her face. "What are you?" He asked, trying to take her in, but in the darkness, he could only make out the parts of her that where hit by the firelight.

She smirked. "Alien."

Epps whistled. "Dude, that's awesome! I knew we couldn't be alone! Figg! You owe me a new truck!" He exclaimed, causing the man beside him to groan dreading his rotten luck.

Nova chuckled. "You humans, such a strange lot… designations?" She enquired.

Lennox nodded. "Will Lennox."

The rest of the group, including his young friend Sadji remained silent.

With a roll of his eyes he gave a light punch to Epps' shoulder. "This is Epps, that's Figg, that's Jon, this here's Sadji, and that's Napoleon Dynamite." He declared, pointing at Nathanial.

"Hey! That ain't my name! Don't go confusing the alien!" Nathanial snapped.

They were surprised when she started laughing. "I remember that movie! Nice one… one sec, my little bro's yelling at me over the com." She declared, raising her servo up to the side of her helm, only to wince after a moment, this position continued for a solid minute. "Glad to hear from you too… what… you found something! Ok! I'll rendezvous with you in… however long this takes! Yeah, yeah! I know! Primes gonna have my aft I realise that! But I couldn't just leave them to Blackout! … Love you too Bee, yep… got it be there in a few, oh and my wings a little bent so don't expect a perfect landing." She pulled her servo away and looked around. "Look, you can't stay here, head North, I spotted a communication relay over there, you should be able to use it to call in help, I gotta go, stay safe! And remember! I was never here!" She yelled, before leaping up into the sky, transforming into a strange, futuristic jet fighter like craft, the engines letting off a sharp whine before she shot away, vanishing off the horizon not two seconds later, leaving only two white smoke trails.

Epps turned to the others of their small unit. "Dudes… we just made first contact!" He exclaimed, mouth split in a huge grin.

They all looked to one another, stumped by what they'd all just realised.

Jon groaned. "She didn't say I come in peace! Can you imagine if she'd said that?! That would of ticked everything! Alien death match, explosions, high tech guns, but no WE COME IN PEACE!" Something buzzed in his pocket, pulling out his phone he realised there was a message on it. " **By the way, ah come in peace bitches! ... That is the right derogatory term used in human culture, correct?** " "Holy fuck..." He mumbled.

Lennox rolled his eyes. "C'mon, we need to salvage all we can, then, we're heading for that communication dish."

They all nodded and broke apart, the events of the previous few minutes weighing heavy on them when they realised they were the only survivors of the carnage.

They didn't blame Nova, deep down, they all knew she had had no intention of harming anyone, and that the one she was fighting, was the true cause for the death which surrounded them.

* * *

 **And there we go! Yeah, Nova's gonna have to brush up on her knowledge of human communication. So much to learn, so little time, well, until I next update, hope you enjoyed!**

 **Moon + Lunar**


	10. Human interactions

**Ok, this should of been out way sooner, unfortunately I got held up by work experience last week, which kinda left me too exhausted to think when I got home and just ended up playing ARK every day, oh well, chapter 11 is now done, so, I give you chapter 10! Oh, and Nova really has to get used to human terms, and, it hasn't really been seen previously very much, but Nova and Bee? Squabble just like every over older sister younger brother do, trust me, I live that same relation. We rarely don't get into a metaphorical squawking match. Like yesterday, 'accidentally' hinted at who one the F1 yesterday, and he did lay off till this morning.**

 **Anyway, I'm rambling, hope you all enjoy! Normal disclaimers, you've seen them enough times! I trust you to know by now!**

* * *

Chapter 10

"Ladiesman217? …The frag is this username?" Novalight mumbled, looking over the 'eBay' website her brother had sent her, she was currently cloaked, having fixed it on the way to Ohio, where her little brother was waiting for her. Bumblebee was currently sitting in his altmode, a Camero he had spotted in a junk yard.

Had anyone seen them, well, Bumblebee, they would have just mistaken him as an old abandoned car, sitting on a Cliffside looking out at the surrounding scenery.

 _"_ _He doesn't exactly look like one does he?"_ He joked over the bond, opening his driver side door to tap her crossed pede.

She snorted. "You're gonna stalk him aren't you?"

 _"_ _Nope, you are. Prime's orders after I told him that you made contact."_ There was such smugness in her little brothers voice at that.

She jumped up and pointed at him accusingly. "You little snitch! Gah! You are getting my fist to the top of your helm for this!" She warned, shaking her clenched servo at his bonnet.

He peeled out of there faster than she could grab his bumper.

 _"_ _Good luck sis!"_

"Frag you Bee!" She shouted after him, only then realising she probably shouldn't have been that loud. "Scrap… hopefully didn't wake up Big… Pede or something? …Seriously, what is with the humans obsession with that poor creature?" She mumbled, before turning and setting her sights on the Coastal state of California. "I so don't want to case a human who has a user name like Ladiesman217…" She groaned, but took off non the less, transforming and blasting off towards her destination.

* * *

The next day

 _"_ _Bored… Bored… Bored… Bored… Bored…"_

 _"_ _I get it! You don't need to keep repeating that Nova!"_ Bumblebee groaned over the bond, sitting pretty and rusty somewhere in the city as Nova sat parked on top of the schools roof, cloaked and her holoform peeking round the corner of the building, blonde pixie cut hair with purple tips wafting around in the pleasant breeze, but her borderline unconscious expression was testimony to how little she wanted to be on the ground.

 _"_ _But I am bored! The kids trying too…. Oh Primus! He's actually trying to sell the Glasses to his classmates… Ha! B-! I woulda given him a D at most!"_

 _"_ _Since when were you versed in the human grading system?"_

 _"_ _Since I realised it was alphabetical! And you thought the symbols dictated the overall level!"_

 _"_ _I'm not talking to you for a good day now."_

 _"_ _Awww… come on little buzzy bouncing Beebee!"_

The sheer irritation which flowed from his end of the bond greatly entertained her. _"… You're trying to get back at me aren't you?"_

 _"_ _It took you this long to realise that? Oh, and what's all this with you still talking to me? I thought you didn't want to talk to me until a planetary cycle has gone by?"_

 _"_ _Just… gah, you should be focusing on the human!"_

 _"_ _Oh scrap! See yah!"_ She shut the bond after that, eyeing the crowd of human teens as they practically sprinted out the building with the force of a stampede.

Novalight however, was more focused on scanning to see where a certain 'Ladiesman217' was, who had, currently, not shown up.

"Hey? You ok over there?"

The sudden voice had her holoform jolting and letting off a startled squawk, turning to meet a human teen, long black hair, sun kissed skin and a figure which, had she been a mech, could have left her jaw on the ground,

There was an awkward moment of silence between the two of them before the unexpected human cleared her throat. "I… I was heading to my house and I saw you just standing there, are you waiting for someone?"

Finally Novalight was able to pull herself back to reality. "Err kinda, sorry, you just surprised me, kinda zoned out there…" She tried to act human, rubbing the back of her head with her hand.

The human female looked her over, taking in the Dog tags and weird carved tooth around her neck, the spaghetti strap purple top with a white strip running down the front with gold stitching, then the mechanics jumpsuit, the upper half tied around her hips in a way which showed off the curve of her figure, the grey, smudge covered, singed and at some places outright missing fabric looked like it had been worn for years, likely a hand me down that had seen more work than most. The jumpsuit was then replaced by thick steel caped boots, which looked as scuffed and well used as the jumpsuit that was tucked into them. The teen in front of her even had a bunch of oil smears on her face which looked like they'd stained and refused to come off.

It was an odd look, but she just guessed she'd literally had not had the time to change before she got here. "You a car mechanic or something?" She enquired, her interest at another good looking woman in the trade spiking.

Novalight shrugged. "Not exactly, I'm mainly a weapons inventor, maker, fixer, and well, I'm fighter jet mechanic. I was sent here by the top brass to have a 'rest and relaxation' and try and understand life outside a military base." She tried to cover, not sure she'd gotten her cover story simple enough so not to sound suspicious.

"Oh! That does explain the dog tags, I'm Mikeala Barnes." She introduced, extending her hand, which Novalight was surprised to find was actually quite calloused.

Novalight quickly shook it, the gesture familiar. "N…Narisa Hidia. Jeez, you got a good shake, you do labour too or something?" She asked.

Mikeala nodded. "Yeah, I know my way around a car better than most."

"Sweet… Oh sccccshit! I was meant to be looking for that guy who was meant to show me the way to his house, the assholes never gave me his address so I've been waiting here since ten for him! Damnit all to… hell! Hey, I gotta run, really nice to meet you Mikeala, hope we can talk again another time?!"

She nodded. "Hey! There's a lake party later tonight! If you want you can come! We can talk then!" She called after her as Novalight quickly made a show of running towards the back of the school, all whilst the engines of her alt mode silently fired up and shot away from the building, her holoform flickering out of existence the moment she was out of the human, Mikeala's view.

"Sure! If I can find this place!"

 _"_ _Errr Bro? I lost him."_

 _"_ _This is why I'm the scout, and you're the one who blows scrap up, I'm tailing them now, they're heading to the local Business Park, with talk of buying him his first car… And I already have a plan."_

 _"_ _Let me guess, you're gonna pose as a car and make it so that he has to buy you?"_

 _"…"_

 _"_ _I really do know you that well Bee, despite how little I may show it sometimes, I taught you how to throw paint grenades! With have a link beyond the sibling bond, don't underestimate that!"_

 _"…_ _Nova, shut up."_

 _"_ _Hmmm…. Don't want to… I'm…"_

 _"_ _If you say you're bored, I am transforming right here in the middle of the road and shooting you in the nose cone!"_

 _"_ _Ha! I'd like to see you try! You can't shoot what you can't lock onto!"_

 _"_ _Can we focus?"_

 _"_ _Alright, let's focus… what the frag is that bird doing there?!"_ She was referring to the Ostrich she'd just spotted, ignoring Bumblebee's 'I give up' and focusing on what she'd just seen, the large bird was in a small enclosure within the run down car dealership, and looked like it was half starved. Not really thinking she landed in the field next to the dealership and activated her holoform next to the small cage. "Heya there big boy." She tried to soothe, the bird squawked at her once, before calming down, tilting its small head to the side as it leaned down, and pecked her.

She would of reacted had it hurt, but instead she just reached up and stroked the birds chest. "Hey, hey, don't worry, I'll get you out." She wasn't going to just take the bird, she knew she had to do this legally, so, quickly sent a written complaint about the birds mistreatment to the local animal authorities, they'd come get the bird, she hoped, she'd been taking pictures of its malnourished state throughout and attached them to the message.

Turning round, she spotted a three quarter empty bag of low grade chicken feed, disgusted at the poor diet she reached forwards and cupped her hands so as to pick up a large serving of the seeds, before holding it out the bird.

He quickly started snapping at the seeds, making a bit of a mess in the process, but Novalight didn't mind, her holoform was just concentrated energy, nothing more.

However, the sound of a door slamming startled the both of them, causing the seed to scatter and the Ostrich to bolt towards the far side of his enclosure.

Slightly peeved, Novalight turned to take in the sight of her little brother removing his door from an ancient looking yellow Beetle.

"Over dramatic much?" She mumbled, listening in for a few before the sound of a radio tuning could be heard. "Oh scrap." She was quick to shut off her audios and ears, simply watching the carnage of glass shattering, caused by her little brother releasing a sonic wave, something Que had created a generator for when they were younger.

"Four… Four thousand!" The dealer yelled, declaring that the deal had been made and he wanted them, or her little brother, out of his little establishment.

She chuckled, watching as the human teen slid into her little brothers driver's seat and fired him up waiting for his father to finish the documents with the shabby dealer, both of them shaken, her little brothers engine purposefully sputtered for a moment causing his exhaust to let out a cloud of smoke has he rolled out of the lot, followed by the teens father in his own car.

 _"_ _Not a word."_

 _"_ _Wouldn't dream of it."_ She cooed, lifting off the ground and silently circling around to keep herself from stalling. _"You should let Ratchet check you over when we meet up with the others, you know, that did sound nasty."_

 _"_ _Shut up and let me focus on the road! It's not as easy as it looks!"_

 _"_ _Nor is flying! You think it's easy adapting to a new planets wind currents and weather?! Not to mention avoiding going so slow one simply falls out of the sky!"_ This was a debate they had often when bored, which type of alt mode was more difficult to use, but as neither of them were triple changers, they couldn't experience the other to get an idea, and so, when it happened, the debate would last until one of their either dropped it, or in the more likely case, Nova would simply fall into recharge mid-point, having once again worked to much with too little energon. Something Ratchet and their sire was frequently on her aft about, to which she wafted them off with a groan or mumble before getting back to work.

Which often lead to her helm firmly planted on the desk and someone having to carry her back to her berth room.

Most of the time that job fell on her sire, what with him being one of the few who she couldn't so easily knock out with one of her recharge punches.

They weren't common, but she'd knocked Jazz into stasis once when she was nine vorns old, and the job had then on only gone to the thicker helmed mechs.

Or Flareup.

Novalight had pondered a few times herself if her aunt had a death wish, but, she was hardly any saner half the time.

She didn't show it, but the sounds of explosions rarely left the back of her helm, only when she was working on something did they leave, and right now, all she wanted to do was find a nice abandoned area, and blow something to oblivion.

Her still dented wing was now a dull pain, the sensor net having recalibrated so that she could still fly, and was compensating for the slight roll to the side it gave her.

They were going through a very well off part of town now, Bumblebee turning up onto a driveway and killing his engine, allowing the teen to slip out and run inside.

Content that her little brother could take care of the human, she banked away, her plan was to do some research into human parties, what with her now being invited to one.

Bumblebee sent her a shove of confusion, having picked up on her leaving the area, to which she'd given him a brief explanation before focusing back on her research.

* * *

3 hours later

Novalight peaked round on of the thick trees which sat around the lake, filled with sparsely clad humans as they frolicked, shouted and all-round had fun.

She felt her holoform's fingers twitch… Ratchet had made their holoforms waterproof when he found out how much of Earth was made of the stuff.

"Hey Narisa!" The call had her jumping, heading slamming against a branch sitting oh so innocently above, causing her to hiss and rub the stinging area, thank Primus she'd gotten enough hits to the helm from Ratchet's wrenches to be used to it.

She tentatively turned to see Mikeala standing there, and a wall of meat next to her, tattooed arms crossed and beady eyes looking her up and down, what was with everyone and doing that the moment they saw her? Was her holoform that unusual? It fit what she did, and what she did was hard labour making seriously dangerous weapons which, due to her 'education' lead to many engulfing her in blast radiuses, or being sent into oblivion on purpose, but still… sometimes she wondered if the holoform wasn't wearing enough protection! But, she'd mull over that later.

"You ok? That looked like a nasty hit." Mikeala asked, stepping closer before Novalight waved her off.

"Don't worry about it, I've hit my head on harder stuff. So… this is… this is the first party I've been to honestly… you know… that doesn't involve a paint war." She chuckled, causing the two to look at her in confusion. "Yeah, that was a one-time thing for a reason… took weeks for everyone to return to the right colours, I actually took three months!" She declared proudly.

Mikeala chuckled before patting the wall of meat next to her on the arm. "This is Trent, my boyfriend, Trent, this is Narisa, I invited her earlier today, thought she'd be fun to get to know." She looked back at Novalight then, taking in her bright smile. "And I think I was right, so, want to hit the lake? You got a costume under that overall of yours?" She asked.

Novalight halted for a moment, she'd looked up how to swim, and a suitable costume, which she did in fact have under her outer clothing layer.

Now it was just the question of if she wanted to show so much 'skin' whilst surrounded by strangers.

With a shrug, she stepped behind the tree, not wanting the wall of meat to get any ideas as she untied the knot which the arms of her overals made around her hips before sliding them off, as long as she was within range of them, in other words a few human kilometres, they wouldn't phase out of existence. Her shoes were simply kicked off, the laces undoing themselves.

They fell away to reveal a pair of short womens trunks, purple with white hibiscus flowers on the left leg, her spaghetti top followed revealing the tankini underneath, the straps going over her back and forming a braid which attached to the back of her costume, the fabric keeping her decency well enough.

Once that was done, she stepped back into view and spun. "Do I look good?" She enquired.

Mikeala nodded, having taken off her own outer layer whilst meat wall, as Novalight had decided to refer to him as, admired the view they both offered.

Mikeala chuckled. "I assume your dad doesn't know about this?"

Novalight chuckled. "If he did, he'd have a gun trained on every me-guy here, and mom would blaze a warpath all the way here with intent to destroy." She joked, even though she knew that was likely the outcome of such an event.

Both of the humans looked at her, a little worried for their own lives. Meat wall finally speaking. "You parents sound crazy."

Novalight smirked. "Oh trust me, they get it from me, I'm not known as the purple devil for nothing! It's called tricking two friends of mine into believing they had been decapitated, and had a pregnant ghost trying to kill them, those being separate events of course, and those were only some of the first I pulled on them!"

Now they really looked concerned.

Novalight shrugged. "Crazy upbringing in the middle of a warzone, now then, we gonna swim or not? Eh, if not I'm gonna go enjoy myself!" With that she sprinted towards the water, racing past two guys who almost fell over themselves trying to get out of the way of her before she launched herself from the side of the lake , arching through the air and into a dive which soaked a group not too far from where she landed.

She swam around for a bit, glad that she'd remembered all the stuff she'd downloaded, being sure to rise to the surface every minute or so to make a show of breathing, not that she needed to, before diving back down, her pixie cut hair fluttering around her face.

Mikeala joined her a while latter in the surprisingly clear water, her long black hair putting on a bit more of a watery show than her own due to it being far longer, she waved before pointing upwards, Novalight following after so that they could break the surface and tread water.

"So, where'd you grow up?"

Novalight shrugged. "Bunch of different bases, met a lot of people, honed my craft from age seven, blame my aunt and uncles for that, or and my parents, they're the weapons specialists in my unit."

Mikeala nodded. "Siblings?"

Novalight nodded. "Little brother, Benji, but we all call him Bee," She responded, the two now swimming in a loose circle.

Mikeala hummed to herself. "Sounds like one hell of a life."

She nodded, flipping up onto her back. Starring over at the empty cliff her altmode sat on, cloaked. "What about you?"

"Mom passed away when I was a baby, dad did all he could to raise me, not the best life, but there's some good memories." She responded, following the holoforms lead. "Favourite vehicle?"

Novalight smirked. "Classified."

Mikeala huffed. "Favourite food?"

"Whatever the cafeteria workers cook that doesn't try to kill you. You?"

"Oooh, chicken fillet with BBQ sauce, grilled or smoked, both devine."

"I'll have to try that, only been in the states for three months, barely had time to take it all in."

"Really must off given you whiplash randomly walking up to you and inviting you to this. What with us just being random strangers."

Novalight chuckled. "Trust me, a bit of kindness goes the distance… my… dad's a testament to that… the first thing I remember solidly about my childhood was him pulling me from the rubble of my home, putting a gun in my six year old hands, and telling me to either shoot, or get killed… when we made it back to the base he was stationed, he and his girlfriend tied the knot so that they could adopt me, I love both of them as my real parents, and it was that single moment of kindness which saved my life." She explained.

Mikela was now just staring at her. "Oh god… you must of seen some real bad things."

Novalight shrugged. "Used to it, I took my first life a ten; he'd threatened Bee's life with a knife… I put an entire cartridge through his brain." She was still haunted by that memory, what would have happened if she hadn't reacted so fast, the mech hadn't been expecting a scared youngling to go berserk and pull a high powered rapid fire cannon on him. "Nine years later, and I've killed more than can be counted. I'm technically on leave for a bit, but due to the battlefield being the only home I know, I'm kinda lost here, it's too quite… not enough perils to ones life… we really need to get onto a more positive topic… what the hell is that idiot doing in that poor tree?!" She finished off with an exclamation, moving to tread water again to see the shaggy haired blonde try and fail to climb, yet alone stay on the branch of the tree, and behind him, a certain human and her little brother, who gave her a confused shove over the bond.

 _"_ _Sis? What are you doing here?"_

 _"_ _I was invited to this by Mikeala here, been trying to relax for a change. Why in the name of Primus are you here?"_

 _"_ _My 'owner' wanted to come to gawk at a femme called… Mikeala…"_

 _"_ _You have got to be fragging kidding me."_

 _"_ _I'm not."_

 _"_ _She's got a boyfriend, a meat wall, but a boyfriend."_

 _"_ _I'm aware, he's aware. Heck his carrier's aware, but that ain't stopping him."_

 _"_ _Primus, humans are weird."_

 _"_ _Tell me about it, that Miles guy he brought with him is whacked out, I think he was dropped on his helm at some point in his younglinghood."_

 _"_ _He's up a tree trying to impress human femmes, I think that's an understatement in regard to processor trauma."_

 _"_ _Just go back to enjoying the water, I'll keep an optic on the humans. Have fun with your human."_

 _"_ _She's not 'my' human!"_

 _"_ _You've made contact, you gotta watch over here, Prime's orders."_

 _"_ _Son of a glitch."_

 _"_ _Language!"_

 _"_ _Oh like your any better, fine, just don't do anything stupid."_

 _"_ _That's like the pot calling the kettle black."_

 _"_ _Huh?"_

 _"_ _Human saying, something you clearly haven't paid attention to."_

 _"_ _I would noogie you if there weren't humans present."_

 _"_ _Well then, I should thank all these humans for being present."_

 _"_ _But Prime said not to show ourselves to them."_

 _"_ _Something you went against already."_

 _"_ _Blackout had already been trying to kill them all! What do you…"_

"Narisa? You want to get out or something?" Mikeala asked, interrupting the conversation she was having with her little brother.

Shaking her head slightly, and sending a splatter of water at her human companion in the process she answered. "Might as well, need to get home at some point, primarily before dad gets home and finds out that I was off gallivanting about with strangers. No offense, but that's how he might take it."

They both waded towards the shore, ignoring the looks they garnered from the males around, Mikeala because she was used to it, Novalight because she wasn't even aware of why they were looking, and couldn't give a scraplets aft about it.

Once fully on the shore, Mikeala watched as Novalight shook her holoform, the water flying off in a few directions before she stopped and walked over to her clothes, pulling them on effortlessly despite the friction her wet costume and skin caused.

Mikeala, deciding better of looking like a dog, pulled out a towel from her bag and began drying it off, she assumed Narisa had come from the Middle East, her tanned skin clueing her to that.

She had to respect this teen, she looked at most nineteen, yet she was already a hardened soldier.

With a fun streak.

"Hey babe, nice show." Trent declared, draping an arm around Mikeala, but he was staring at Nova. "Didn't realise they could bounce like that."

Novalight had no idea what he was talking about.

Mikeala did though, glaring at him before giving him a shove. "Trent, leave off her! I'm right here!"

Novalight tilted her holographic head to the side. "You Americans are an odd bunch." She mumbled. "Honestly, you make things to complicated." With a shake of her head she moved to fall against the tree behind her, resting her chin on her fist, which in turn rested in her lap.

The two looked to her, before going back to bickering about something she couldn't work out, bored, Novalight turned to where her little brothers human was, watching the little squabble between Meat wall and Mikeala, hope being evident.

"Sly bastard." She mumbled under her breath.

"Gah! That's it! We're done! Goodbye Trent!" Her head snapped back to see Mikeala stomping away, she got up to follow, only to have a hand grab her.

"Hey, c'mon babe, don't you want to spend some time with…" She didin't let him finish, she spun, grabbed his head, and brough it down on her knee, then promptly slammed her foot into the dip between his legs,, finished off with her grabbing the back of his head and, by using his own weight against him, threw him into the tree she'd just been sitting against.

She glared down at the dazed and in pain man as others began chanting to her to continue to fight.

So, she kicked him, then turned and went after Mikeala, who was standing there, starring at the display.

 _"_ _And the no harming human rule has also been completely ignored! You see?! It just went flying through the wondow!"_

She didn't respond, moving to wrap her arm around her human companions shoulder. "He's an asshole, you did well by dumping him."

Mikeala nodded, a smile blooming on her features. "Who taught you how to do that?"

"Mom and my aunties, especially auntie Flo. They made sure I could take care of myself in unknown situations and territories."

Mikeala chuckled. "America is a crazy place." Novalight nodded in agreement, the two now walking towards town, her alt mode silently circling overhead so that her holoform didn't suddenly cut out from lack of signal.

"So, we heading to your place?" Before she could finish, her little brother pulled up, driven by the teen.

Novalight completely ignored him. _"What happened to his weird tree clambering friend."_

 _"_ _Got kicked out, he tried to climb through my window!"_

 _"_ _Did he kick him out, or you?"_

 _"_ _He was out before I could do anything."_

 _"_ _What did Prime say about no harming humans."_

 _"_ _Nova, that crumpled pile of jerk back there show's very clearly that you don't give a damn about 'no harming humans'."_

 _"_ _Hey, he started it, shouldn't have grabbed me, I acted out of self-defence."_

 _"_ _That's a load of bullslag."_

 _"_ _Language!"_

 _"_ _Like you're any better"_

"I'll only go with you if Narisa comes too." Mikeala's mention of her name snapped her back to the conversation, and the fear in the teens eyes as he regarded her, and the disappointment at not being able to give only Mikeala a lift.

With a sigh he nodded and pushed the passenger door open, whilst Novalight went for the back seats.

 _"_ _This is weird."_

 _"_ _Tell me about it. We never mention this to anyone."_

 _"_ _I'd rather blow myself up in a combiners tanks then ever speak of it."_

 _"_ _You could have said no."_

 _"_ _Wasn't thinking about how awkward this would be. Wanted to make sure my new friend didn't end up jumped by this teen."_

 _"_ _His designation is Sam."_

 _"_ _Sam? Eh, better than random whiny teen I guess."_

After that they lulled into silence.

Nova looked out the window closest, drowning out 'Sam's' horrible attempts to impress her new friend as he continued to drive towards town.

She could be doing so many far more productive things right now.

Like checking in on those humans in Qatar, the news said there were no survivors, which meant they were taking their sweet time getting the message out that they were alive.

Instead, she was here, technically keeping an eye on this teen so that they could get his deceased relatives glasses, thus getting the code for the location of the Allspark.

She was jerked back to reality at the sound of a dying engine, and she noticed the cliff they were rolling up to.

 _"_ _Bee? What the frag you doing?"_

 _"_ _Having some fun."_ A song then started flowing from the radio, and the engine fully died, it was a love song.

 _"_ _I'm so going to kill you for this."_

Bumblebee's smugness was all she got in return.

She wanted to kick him. So she did, slamming her boot into the foot well.

 _"_ _YOWCH!"_

* * *

 **I think she hit something sensitive there, oh well, he'll live, maybe, Nova is gonna be pretty slagged off that he dragged her into this. Oh well, hope you all enjoyed! Movies now started, and the balls only gonna get faster going down this hill! Also, I feel no sympathy for 'Meat wall' anyone else? Nova?**

 **Nova: 'giving me a look of 'I don't give a frag''**

 **Me: Ok... well, until next time, Nova... I know I'm gonna regret this but... anything to add?**

 **Nova: 'smirks' Why of course! 'picks me up and drops me in a vat of silver paint' Now you look like your avatar!**

 **Me: SON OF A... NOVA! I WILL TOSS ALL OF YOUR WEAPONS INTO AN INCINERATOR FOR THIS!**

 **Nova: No, no you won't.**

 **Me: 'fuming' I really hate you right now.**

 **Nova: Noooooo... you love me! 'takes anime pose'**

 **Me: I will make Mojo relieve himself on you instead.**

 **Nova: 'pulls out can' got the organic friendly paint remover!**

 **Me: Good, now then, until next time! Hopefully I'll be back to my normal colour by then. Well, until next time, see yah!**

 **Nova: Don't forget to review! 'sees the look I'm giving her' why are you so against that?**

 **Me: Because I want it to be their choice! Not me or them telling them to!**

 **Nova: Oh fine! 'flies off'**

 **Me: Finally.**


	11. Holoform Decapitation

**Chapter 12 complete! So this ones ready to go, now, I would like to let everyone know that, later tonight, I and my family will be on our way to the Airport, we're going for a two week holiday in the States, our third time over there, and I will likely have little to no time when it comes to writing, so the next chapters of my fics will be delayed I'm afraid, kinda why I spam wrote chapter 12, so I could put this up to let you know. Now then, the usual disclaimers, Novalight is owned by myself and Lunarburst 23, now then, on with the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 11

Nova had gotten out when Mikeala had been dropped off, her nerves fried and desiring nothing more than the kick her little brothers hub caps in.

Apparently he'd wanted to give his 'charge' and her 'charge' a 'little nudge' to get them together.

Thus resulting in a fake breakdown, music, and Sam ogling Mikeala and herself.

She had not wanted to look under her own brother's hood, some things just weren't meant to be seen by siblings, and as a result, she'd given him some very rough treatment as she 'fixed' him.

Which he was still whining about.

"It was… nice talking to you," Mikeala stated as she peered in at Sam from the sidewalk, which the two of them now stood on.

She ignored what he had to say back, instead alternating between glaring at her little brother and the area around them, something about this place put her on edge, She brushed it off when Sam had her little brother drive away, leaving her to stand there, not sure how to get away from her human companion without seeming suspicious.

"So, think you can get home from here?" Mikeala asked.

Novalight nodded. "Yeah, I've been in this area for a while now, I'm staying with an old family friend." She hated the lie, but she couldn't raise suspicion. "He's the guy who got me into inventing, and hooked on accidental explosions." She claimed. "So, stay safe and, I'll see you around?"

Mikeala nodded, watching the Camaro drive away. "Sam really is weird."

Nova shrugged. "Bee's worse, and my Aunt Flo, obsessed with covering every bare wall in paint splatter which you know will never fully come off."

Mikeala snorted, before waving at her and headed towards one of the small houses close to where they were. "See you soon Narisa!"

"Sooner than you'd think." She muttered to herself before walking behind a group of houses, with no one watching, she disengaged her holoform, shooting away from the area to go find a nice place to settle down for the night.

It was Bee's job to signal the others to begin their journey to Earth, they'd arrive within the day, so long as there were no complications.

* * *

The next day

"You got him arrested?!" Novalight's holoform hissed at her little brother, who had engaged his own holoform so that people didn't think his sister was crazy for talking to an inanimate vehicle, well any crazier than she already was.

The blonde black streak haired seventeen year old shrugged, his bee themed jacket bouncing with his shoulders. _"He shouldn't off followed me."_ He mouthed, whilst making his point over the bond.

Had to make the conversation look like it was two way.

Novalight groaned, pinching the bridge of holographic face and shaking her head. "And you keep calling me out on all this scrap I've been doing, just… get back to watching the human, I think a Con picked up on the signal last night, can't tell who though."

 _"_ _Hopefully we'll be able to keep any conflict out of human sight."_

He didn't mouth that part, and he began rolling forwards, his engine thrumming steadily, Novalight turned to watch him go from the side walk, before disengaging her holoform in a flurry of Pixels and returning her full conscious to her frame, taking off and ripping through the sky, keeping mind of going below the speed of sound. Crossing that speed threshold was only something she was willing to do over open ocean, far from the view of the humans water faring craft.

* * *

For a time she just went in random directions around the area, trying to study as much as she could of human life, but their more… destructive side was hard to ignore, and she just ended up watching videos of things getting blown to kingdom come, her favourites quickly becoming the ones made by the humans who dubbed themselves the 'Mythbusters'. The cement truck was her preferred out of all of them; there wasn't even an engine block to find after that one, not that she di8dn't mind the fact that they only got bigger and bigger over the years.

 _"…_ _FOR THE LOVE OF PRIMUS WILL YOU RESPOND!?"_

"GAH!" The sudden shout from her brother threw her off her focus almost sending her into a stall and nosedive. _"The heck bro? What's all the blowin' my audios out for?!"_

 _"_ _BARRICADE! HE'S AFTER MY CHARGE! I'VE GOT HIM AND YOUR HUMAN CHARGE WITH ME! I NEED BACK UP!"_

 _"_ _Well why didn't you say so?! And she isn't my charge! She's just a nice human!"_

 _"_ _I'VE BEEN YELLING AT YOU FOR OVER A FRAGGING HOUR! IF YOU WERE WATCHING THOSE EXPLOSION VIDEOS ON THAT VIDEO SHARING WEBSITE LIKE SIRE TOLD YOU ESPECIALLY NOT TO DO, I'LL GROUND YOU MYSELF!"_

 _"_ _Will you fragging stop yelling! Where in the name of Unicrons rusty aft are you?!"_

The co-ordinates popped up not a moment later, in the complete opposite direction to where she was going in the now dark sky.

At noticing how dark it had become, Novalight came to quite the realisation that she'd wasted a full fourteen hours on explosions, and the odd cat video, without even noticing it.

"Primus, I really do get side-tracked." _"I'm on my way! Just…just look rusty!"_

 _"…_ _That really the first thing that came to your processor?"_

 _"_ _Well you don't exactly look like a Polyhexian model now do you right now!"_

 _"_ _Hey! Hey! Hey! I'M PRAXIAN!"_

 _"_ _And I'm Vosian and Crystalian! Now we've got that sorted out, can we focus!?"_

 _"_ _When you get your paint peeled aft down here!"_

 _"_ _There is nothing wrong with preferring paint splatter!"_

 _"_ _There will be when Carrier sees you~!"_

 _"_ _Don't you dare pull that one on me! Oh hey, I'm here… fragit, I broke the sound barrier back then."_

 _"_ _Robots in Disguise… how hard of a concept is that for you to accept!"_

 _"_ _I wasn't thinking! I'm here now!"_

 _"_ _Good! I kicked the humans out! Frenzy went after them! Go find them!"_

 _"_ _I am not leaving you to Barricade! Besides! Frenzy's a fragging midget!"_

 _"_ _That is an incredibly offensive term!"_

 _"_ _You really think I give a damn right now!"_ To accentuate this, she dropped her cloak, transforming in the process as she dived, and slammed her fist directly into Barricade's faceplates, her chassis passing directly over her little brothers helm as her momentum sent herself and the dual coloured con to the ground and skidding along it, tearing up a flurry of stones and similar debris into the air.

Having not been punched with the force of a high speed asteroid, Nova was the one to remain conscious pushing up off where she'd landed on the slightly smaller mechs chassis and hopping off him, which was followed by her wiping her servos and giving a 'what?' look to her peeved younger brother.

 _"_ _What happened to going after the humans?"_

"Hey, I was on a direct trajectory with that ugly mugs faceplates long before you told me that, I may be fast, but I didn't feel like turning at the last moment like that and potentially whacking your helm in with my tail fins alright? Besides, now we can both go look for the humans."

 _"_ _You look like your armour was put through a sanding belt."_

"Huh?" She mumbled, glancing down at her relatively flat chassis and beyond to the rest of her. "I repainted an orn ago… oh." She finally took note of the large paint scrape which ran from her chassis and all the way down to the joints of her legs. "Where'd that come from?" She murmured, looking back in the direction she came from, she spotted a large billboard, now missing a good portion of its upper half. "Ah… oops." She turned back around to find her little brother giving her such a look she couldn't help but give an awkward chuckle and rub the back of her helm. "Really gotta start looking where I'm going, guess that skyscraper back in Metroplex didn't hammer that all the way in."

"Oh god… their multiplying."

The new, and familiar, voice had their helms snapping down, finding the two humans they were meant to be looking after, standing there, one of whom, was currently without his trousers.

They looked to one another as the notion he'd just handed out registered.

They backpedalled away from one another with a startled cry from Novalight and a startled 'Oh hell no!' from Bumblebee.

They both froze, having gone to rebuke the human for suggesting such a thing when the fact that sound had come from Bumblebee had registered.

 _"_ _That was my radio… holy frag! I didn't realise I could use that!"_

Nova stared at him for a moment, arms slumped forwards along with her upper frame. "That… why didn't we try that before! Now everyone else won't have to keep asking either me or sire for a translation! YAHOO! I don't need to pay attention anymore! Back to the catsplosion videos!" She cheered, jumping up with an elated borderline crazed grin.

Bumblebee looked down to the clearly worried for their own lives humans. 'She was pushed out… of a… massive fucking skyscraper… when she was… young.'

Their jaws were hanging loose and expressions that of outright confusion mixed with a good dose of near passing out there and then.

Nova whacked him lightly over the helm. "Let's focus on getting them to the rendezvous alright? Then we can let boss bot explain all this scrap to them."

Mikeala shook her head after a moment, taking a closer look at the femme standing over them. "Wait… oh god… Narisa?!What? How?" Before she say anymore, the holoform was standing in front of her.

"Easy, it's a holoform, you know, let's me blend in, not real." She explained, before proceeding to pull her own holoforms head off and instead rest it on her hip, showing off the crackling ring of energy which sat on both parts of the separated holoform.

That was all it took to make Sam faint outright, falling back with a whimper of a chuckle onto the gravel, leaving Mikeala to try and wake the teen up, as Bumblebee returned the whack his sister had previously given him. _"Why the frag did you feel so inclined to scaring my charge like that?! He could have had a spark attack!"_

 _"_ _You mean, a heart attack,"_

 _"_ _Doesn't matter! I'm mad at you right now, just… just go watch your stupid videos!"_

 _"_ _Nah… I wanna see how long it takes for sleeping beauty here to wake up."_

 _"_ _Sleeping who?"_

 _"_ _Just watch the Disney movies I sent you."_

 _"_ _No... they're for sparklings."_

Rolling her optics, Nova disengaged her decapitated holoform, before stepping over to the two teens and kneeling down to pick the two up as carefully as she could, startling Mikeala whilst Sam remained limp. "Whoa there, I ain't gonna hurt yah! Just handin' yah over to my little bro… seeing as I don't think you'd like flying with me," She tried to explain, doing as she said she would and handing the two over to her little brother. "Don't drop them."

Bumblebee shot her a look before setting them down, Sam now beginning to come back around from his little fainting spell.

With a nod to him which got a glare back, she stepped over to the slowly regaining consciousness Con, and delivered a harsh kick to the mechs helm, tempted to end him there and then, but deciding it was something they could deal with later.

Sam was now fully conscious, shooting her weary looks as Bumblebee shifted down and opened his passenger door.

They didn't move though, so Novalight piped up with. "Don't worry, we're just… taking you to our leader?" Bumblebee flashed his headlights at her in confirmation. "Yup, tasking you to our leader, not the other way around, and don't worry, we ain't some weird flesh eating creature which want's nothing more than to wipe out your race, that's the Decepticons, like the fragger I one-punched over there." She declared, gesturing to the stasis locked mech behind her. "Hopefully he wakes up before anyone finds him… or maybe I really should shoot him… yeah… you go ahead you three, I'll take care of this." She declared, drawing a dual servo shotgun like weapon and priming it.

The humans rushed for her little brother after that, him speeding away to make up for any lost time, stopping briefly to pick up Sam's discarded fabric leg armour and Mikeala's purse and phone.

She watched them until they disappeared from view, when she turned back to face the mech, her optics locked with his burning red ones, before she could utter a curse, a sudden flash of blinding white light knocked out her optics, and something slammed into her side, sending her flying for a moment before crashing into a roll along the ground, her frame coming to a rest after a moment as she rubbed at her faceplates with a groan, cursing the mech out, the sound of squealing tires alerted her to the mechs fleeing, leaving her to prop herself up and rub at her optics until her vision recovered.

"Fraggit, I gotta get myself a visor or something… those distraction grenades are starting to be a pain in my aft." She glanced down at the cluster of grenades she now kept on her hipplates. "Well, the exception being my own lovely carnage creators." She cooed, patting one contently before pushing herself up and stretching, looking over her now even more scuffed frame. "Damnit, show's what I get for actually trying to repaint myself… not that I'd done the best job anyway, but oh well." She rambled to herself, picking up her weapon and subspacing it again, no longer needed, at least until she realised it was loaded, and wasn't the best behaved, even with the safety on, so she quickly drew the weapon again and emptied it, placing the ammunition in the subspace designated to holding her life ammunition. "Don't need blowing a piece of me out to add to that." She mumbled, her vision now fully recovered from the flash grenade, she took a few jog like steps to get up momentum before leaping into the air and transforming, shooting away towards one of the hills which surrounded the area, content with watching the rest of her units arrival from a distance.

 _"_ _Nova? Broken any more of Prime's criteria since Bumblebee last signed in? Which you've been forgetting to do."_ Her sires voice came over the bond.

Transforming she grabbed a fallen log, taking up the task of peeling all of its bark off. _"Not to my knowledge sire how's the trip been?"_

 _"_ _Slow, as always, oh and Prime's gonna want a word with you at some point."_

 _"_ _Fragit."_

 _"_ _Language femme! … Ah who am ah kidding, so, cannons all been working? You've been keeping Spitter from going into the red zone whilst you use the flamethrower option like Que always warned you about?"_

 _"_ _Sire, stop trying to impersonate a mix of carrier and Auntie Elita, it sounds weird."_

 _"_ _Just trying to show I care."_

 _"_ _A shuggle would be enough."_

 _"_ _A what?"_

 _"_ _Human thing, a mix between a snuggle and a hug."_

 _"_ _Nova, those are the same thing."_

 _"_ _Not to some humans! Anyway, find anything else of interest?"_

 _"_ _Yes, you're little spat with Blackout. Apparently it's all over the humans communication links, something about those humans you saved having to then be saved by their own."_

 _"_ _One, you hacked them, cause that wasn't on the news, and two, Scorponok?"_

 _"_ _Looks like it."_

 _"_ _Damnit! I should of squashed that fragger when I had the chance!"_

 _"_ _You'll get another chance, but from what we can see from our… vantage point within their systems, the soldiers you saved haven't spoke of your involvement."_

 _"_ _That's good at least… sire… I'm bored."_ She finished peeling the bark at that point, revealing the thick core of the recently felled tree.

Boredom was something Novalight legitimately hated, and had been something she'd been stuck with on their space travels, whenever she wasn't doing something, flying, making, shooting, pranking, or anything to keep her processor on all cylinders, she fell back into a state of questioning.

Namely… about why she could hardly remember her creators and what they did.

Her memory files from back then had she realised, corroded in a sense, fragmented horribly and leaving only blurry images, Bumblebee could clearly remember his life when he was that old, but hers? Up until Ironhide had pulled her out of that rubble, it was all a blur, a literal blur, one that agitated her heavily.

She couldn't even remember what they said before they pushed her out of the window of their home, had they said goodbye? We love you? Stay safe?

Something deep in her spark told her it was something else.

But what, eluded her.

She couldn't even remember what optic colour they had…

And, she was questioning again now, who the bots where who visited every now and then, looking her over, talking with words she couldn't understand...

A new idea came into her helm, and she sent Primus and internal 'thank you'.

 _"_ _Or may I'm not…"_ With that she drew her tools, some of them clicking out of the tips of her digits out of habit, but those she sent the signal to stay in their default position, and instead drew one of her larger chisels, something she didn't often use.

For the next two hours she worked meticulously to whittle the log down into something a bit more attractive, her smaller tools coming to use when it came to the more finite parts of the design, finished with searing the wood ever so slightly in places to add a more prominent effect, and her designation in the base.

Throughout she and her sire chatted, him relaying messages to the others, along with the entire reprimand Optimus had had waiting for her, which she listened to in full, as he was one of the few mechs she knew, who held her full and total respect, even when he wasn't best pleased with her.

Once he was finished though, he went back to his more friendly nature, and they all just enjoyed chatting, even after Jazz accidentally took out a Stadium light, Ratchet crashed into someone's shop and her own Sire crashed into someone's pool, his enquiry of what the little girl had meant by 'Tooth Fairy' had very nearly sent Novalight rolling down her hill she was perched on in a fit of laughter, had she not caught herself in time.

She was just doing the final touches when she was advised to meet up with the others, rising from her seating position, she placed the carving in her more rarely used subspace, which held all of her trinkets which weren't her fang necklace which Sunstreaker had etched for her.

Pushing off the ground she took to the sky again, it took under a human minute for her to arrive, but, seeing as she'd still arrived before everyone else, she settled down on top of one of the buildings which framed the alley way, cloaking herself so as to make an entrance, not that the two humans in question hadn't already seen her.

The sounds of multiple land based engines reached her audios not that later, her optics trained on the form of her little brother. _"Ooooh,you could pick up any fem with that bro~! …Damnit, no rust to make fun of…"_ She called over the bond.

 _"_ _How many times do I need to tell you to focus today?"_

 _"_ _No clue."_

That was the others arrived, pulling in from the other direction, Optimus pulling the lead, followed by her sire, Jazz, and then Ratchet, sirens blarring and all.

 _"_ _Robots in disguise huh?"_

 _"_ _Just shut up Nova."_

The two teens had stepped out at this point, leaving Optimus' grill to be less than a metre away from them as he began his transformation process, followed quickly by the others, Nova quickly slid down the side of the building, and, with the sounds of transformation being louder, she landed, cross pedes on her sires shoulder, still cloaked and elbow resting on his helm.

 _"_ _Runt, you're getting a bit too big for this."_

 _"_ _Until the day my weight successfully crushes you, I shall continue to use you as a watching spot, besides, you like it when I'm up here, you can keep track of me then."_

 _"_ _True."_

The both went back to watching as Optimus knelt down to the two teens level, as Novalight sent another quick praise to her brother over finally getting rid of the rust heap he used to transform into.

"Are you Samuel James Witwicky? Descendant of Archibald Witwicky?" Optimus enquired, clearly intimidating the humans with his sheer size alone.

Mikeala was actually the one to get her voice back first. "They know your name…" She whisper hissed at him, more in awe than anger or anything like that.

"Y-yes…?" Sam answered, backing up slightly into Mikeala.

"My designation, or name as you humans put it, is Optimus Prime." He declared, looking between the two. "And we, are Autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron." He declared, causing the two to completely loose the plot.

"But you can call us Autobots for short." Ratchet spoke up, shrugging along with it in an attempt to mimic human gestures.

"Autobots…" Sam mumbled out, nodding along with it like one of those bobble head things Nova had seen in a few odd places.

Optimus then saw fit to introduce him. "My first lieutenant, designation, Jazz."

Jazz then spoke up, walking forwards with a coy wave as he spoke. "What's crackin' little bitches?" He enquired, before doing something she thought was a breakdance move, before pushing up and landing on an old, dilapidated car. "This looks like a cool place to kick it."

"What? How'd he learn to talk like that?!" Sam exclaimed, gesturing at Jazz, who in return just gave his fellow bots an enquiring look.

Optimus decided to answer him, seeing as Novalight seemingly had decided to hold her glossa for a change so as to surprise the two at a later point. "We downloaded the English language from the World Wide Web, in order to communicate with your kind." Bumblebee teasingly nudged her sister over the bond at that, which she waved him off over the bond with, too engrossed in what she was watching now sprawled out over her sire's shoulders. Watching as Optimus turned to them. "My weapons specialist, and… wherever she is, his oldest creation Novalight, our weapons and explosive experts."

That was their cue, and as her sire brought out his leviathan cannons in all their massive glory, she dropped her cloak to reveal herself, and Spitter, all three lethal weapons trained at the two, causing them to jump back with yelps.

"You feeling lucky? Punk?" Ironhide growled out, over the bond she was easily feeling the effects of his teasing mood as her own grip on Spitter tightened.

"Cause I know I am, and when I'm feeling lucky? Well, those with good sense run for their lives…" She followed up, rolling her shoulderplates coyly "But don't worry Mikeala, I don't shoot friends."

"Easy you two…" Optimus warned, raising a servo to them.

Her sire huffed. "I was just kidding! Wanted to show them my cannons." He tried to explain whilst Novalight just rolled off his back in a way that allowed her to land upright and walk around her sire and place Spitter into the holster on her hipplate which she'd added during their travels across the stars.

She just shrugged at Optimus' raised optic ridge. "What can I say sir? I quote 'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.'" She responded.

He rolled his optics as Ironhide gave her a light whack on the side with the back of his servo, not that it was meant to hurt or anything of the sort.

Optimus quickly moved on. "Our medic, Ratchet."

Novalight barely held a snort as she watched her uncle sniff the air. "Hmmm… the boys pheromone levels suggests he wishes to mate with the female."

Mortification, side splitting amusement and a good dose of shock all mixed into one odd reaction for Novalight, who, on first impulse, keeled over with laughter as the two teens quickly put some distance between them.

"Uncle! Tact!" Novalight chocked out before Ironhide quickly covered her mouthplates to silence her, given her boisterous laughter was going to draw attention if she'd kept it up.

"I was only stating the obvious." Ratchet defended.

'Clearly… not to them.' Bumblebee pipped up with his newly discovered radio speech.

Before Ironhide could smoother his son in an elated hug at his new method of public communication like they could detect over the bond, Optimus spoke up again. "And finally, you guardian, Bumblebee, Ironhide's younger creation. I should clarify, Bumblebee is to be Samuel's guardian, and Novalight, you are to be Mikeala's guardian, seeing as you made first contact with her.

Novalight was about to speak up when the look Prime sent her promptly shut her up, he'd made up his mind, and it wasn't going to change for any reason, so, she'd have to accept it. Bumblebee on the other servo, seemed to be enjoying the attention, and was doing an impression of aboxer as a song she'd probably never be bothered to look began playing.

With a sigh she nodded. "Yes sir." She looked to Mikeala then. "Looks like we're stuck with one another huh?" She enquired, kneeling down and extending her servo to the human female. "I believe shaking of the servo… hand, is a suitable greeting?"

"So this was why you tripping over your words yesterday… you're an alien!" Mikeala exclaimed, a wide smile on her face. "So when you said you were a fighter jet mechanic…?"

"I actually meant I'm a fighter jet, pretty cool huh?"

"How about awesome! Wait… you mentioned that you lived in military bases… and you fought in a war… was that all…?"

"True? Unfortunately, one which has been raging since Prime here was only a few vorns older than I am now than me, me and Bee here, we're the youngest of our race, any younger, and there isn't anybot left online." She explained solemnly, suddenly reminded of that factor, the twins where at least a few vorns older than her, seeing as they'd known Cybertron before the war, whilst they were in the Pits of Kaon, she hadn't, she'd been brought into a war torn world, and it had an effect on her she figured.

There was a beat of silence before Novalight rose back up, stepped back, and allowed Optimus to explain what she had spoke of, using a holographic projection to aid his speech.

Novalight drowned it out, having lived what he now spoke of, Bumblebee shuffled over to her and wrapped his arm around her shouldplates and pulled her into his side, he was almost taller than her now, her wings being the only thing taller due to how they lifted up above her helm,

 _"_ _C'mon, no need to get depressed, for all we know, once we're reunited with carrier, sire might just knock her up within the cycle, then we can have a little sibling to teach and raise into another crazy pit spawn like you are."_

 _"_ _Or a wingman like you've decided to be for your charge."_

 _"_ _What can I say? Wanted to make a good impression."_

They continued their conversation, and Bumblebee was able to successfully able to cheer her back up, they focused back when Mikeala spoke up. "Please tell me you still have those glasses." She mumbled.

Sam gulped. Not sure how to answer.

Novalight couldn't suppress the groan. "Do not tell us you misplaced them or some scrap like that…!"

He didn't answer her, turning instead to her brother. "Can you drive us back home?"

Bumblebee nodded, nudging her sister lightly. Who nodded and jumped up onto Ironhide's shoulderplates, this time grabbing hold of the roof of the building he was standing next to and hefting herself up. "See you slow pokes there!" With that she jumped into the air, transformed and engaged her thrusters, blasting away towards the human teens residence, cloak already engaged.

Mikeala looked over at Sam. "This is crazy." She mumbled as the other bots all transformed down and Bumblebee opened his doors for him.

"Yeah, and I thought your friend was weird when I thought she was human!"

'She's my sister… you better… buckle up! … The adventures just starting!'

"Oh god, we're so gonna die…" Sam mumbled.

* * *

 **That's debatable Sam. Now, I've been asked a few times if Nova is going to save Jazz, I will say this, as likely already seen, this fic does not always follow the rules, Nova's jumping out a window next chapter for Prima's sake. The is a clue in my Deviantart Gallery from a while ago. But I give no more info. Now, thanks for reading, my trip to the USA begins in less than 24 hours... So excited! Again, this means I won't be able to write much, but I will do all I can whenever I find some free time, so, until I next update, see yah!**

 **Moon**


	12. Making a dramtic exit

**Ok, this should of been up way sooner than it is, but chapter 13 gave me some problems, and life in general has become even harder to write in, oh well, chapter 13 is done after a few irritating hiccups. But, let's focus on chapter 12, normal disclaimers which have been posted enough times, well, enough prattle, hope you all enjoy, I did!**

* * *

Chapter 12

She was already perched contently on top of the Witwicky house hidden by her cloak when they arrived, she watched them with interest as Sam told her charge to watch her comrades and family, like they'd stay put at the words of a panicky teen and her friend.

Where they even friends? She'd met the human female teen the day before, and dragged her into their war without so much of a warning.

She pondered over it for a bit, did she even have friends?

She had the twins, but everyone else she knew, they where the generation above, uncles, aunts, acquaintances, or in her brothers exception well, he was her little brother, he didn't count.

And, at least Sideswipe wanted to turn their friendship into something more.

She still wasn't sure about her own feelings, it felt so foreign, the idea of loving them, they where split sparks, it was too be expected that both, if she really was the one, would try and court her.

But then there was the fact that maybe they were just miss-interpreting their own feelings, because she was the only femme their age left that wouldn't put a bullet through their processors without hesitation.

Well, that's not entirely true, she had been more than willing to do that a few times during their prank war back when they were younger, back when Cybertron had a sliver of a chance of survival.

She watched as Sam bolted across his back garden, getting a rebuke from his father in the process about not using his path.

The two quickly got into a conversation, but Novalight was too busy watching Optimus stand up right in front of her, and her little brother had had a go at her for not being discrete! Prime was not in any shape of the word a small mech! Let alone the right colour scheme to not stand out against the night sky, the mech had flames printed on him for the love of Primus!

He wasn't the only one though, within half a minute the entire unit was upright and Bumblebee had even clambered round the side of the house and was peeking into the veranda where his charge and his father were still having their little conversation.

 _"_ _Bee! Get back damnit! He could see you with a slight twist of the head right now and blow our cover! … Not that any of you are being anything near discrete… oh, and don't think I'm going to let this drop you hypocrite!"_

Bumblebee shot her a quick look in the wrong direction, given she was in her cloak he couldn't see that she was peering down at him from the roof.

 _"_ _Prime's orders, we have to get those glasses."_

It was only a minute at most later of Sam and Mikeala throwing a fit, that Optimus stepped on the fountain in the middle of the garden, having been trying to avoid stepping on Sam as he frantically ran around said garden, with an apologetic 'Oops' to follow as he shook his pede to get rid of the marble and water which had gotten into the gaps between his plating.

Novalight decided better than getting down from the roof, it gave her a good vantage point and kept her from only making the human male teen have an even worse conniption fit than he was already having.

She rolled her optics and turned to watch as a small dog ran out of the house, one leg in a cast as it barked and hobbled over to her sire.

"Mojo! Mojo! Off the robot! God!" Sam exclaimed, having been running around trying to get them to stop moving around his garden when he spotted what his dog was about to do.

She couldn't quite make out what happened next due to her position, but her sire's sudden revulsion and a quickly look at what dogs did, and she barely kept herself both on the roof, and her laughs contained, a few snorts managing to get out from between her digits as Sam tried to apologise for his pets 'territorial male dominance behaviour'.

In other words, the tiny dog had just tried to mark her sire's pede.

Had Chromia been there, the dog would have been a crater, at least, that's the image which came to Novalight, thus starting another bout of rabid explosion watching, she couldn't help it, the mere thought of something getting blown to kingdom come just made her feel like, using a human term, on cloud nine, she'd been conditioned to love it from her young age, and now, she couldn't avoid the temptation of more fireballs and dust clouds.

Humans where a destructive race, and she couldn't help but soak up ever building collapse and mine clearing she could find, along with a lot of home DIY videos going horribly wrong.

The ground suddenly shaking along with loud sirens startled her back to reality, her body thrashed instinctively and she rolled off the roof without warning, crashing down on top of Jazz and causing the ground to shake again. Jazz by some miracle, didn't make more of a sound than 'oouf!' before realising what had happened. :Found Nova… an' femme, there is no way in the Pit you're little anymo'!:

By some miracle, her cloak remained intact allowing her to whack him lightly without him being aware it was coming.

Shouts of an 'Earthquake' quickly filled the neighbourhood as Novalight dazedly rolled off Jazz so he could scamper under the overhang Sam's room made, the rest of her unit following suit with Optimus leaning up against the house and pressing his backstrut against it, optics as wide and deer in the headlights as Ratchet pulled himself up from his wire predicament and her sire accidentally took out the local power grid after knocking them down so that Ratchet could get out, plunging them into darkness.

Novalight decided just to lay there, her cloak was on so the humans wouldn't notice her, Jazz was shooting the spot she lay with a look, and a quick message pinged onto her HUD.

:Next time, a little warning.:

:Uncle getting high would've drowned any warning out anyway.: She responded back, glancing over at where Ratchet was still shaking from the extra boost he'd gotten, he'd be hyper for a while at least, having now turned on his rescue search lights to drown the teens room in light so he could continue searching, much to the teens own distress, and from what she could see from inside, alarm for his creators.

She was currently laying on her side, arms out in front of her and her legs laying in the mess which was Optimus's run in with the water fountain.

There was some sort of conversation on the second floor before Sam's father peeked out, she only then noticed Mikeala had gotten up there somehow.

She kicked herself mentally for not keeping better attention.

This was gonna take quite a while to get used to, having a charge to look after.

Which she'd never had to do before, neither had her brother, but she just knew he'd be better at it than her, he was a whole scrap ton lot more attentive than her, why he was a scout and she just flew around blowing Cons to oblivion, well, that's what she did on Cybertron most of her later vorns of life really.

She wasn't guardian material she realised, but she knew Prime wasn't one to change his processor, so, she'd just have to make herself guardian material, somehow.

That was when an idea hit her, and as per her usual, she went for it, engaging her holoform in the corridor up to Sam's bedroom, and then, she knocked on the door.

A shout of. 'Jesus Christ and all his holy muffins!' Came from the other side before Sam's carrier pulled upon the door like it was on fire, bat held high.

It was already on the downswing when Novalight reacted enough to jump out of the way, back hitting the wall as she threw herself to the left.

"Holy sss…crap!" She yelped, jumping back as she sent a quick pulse over the bond to calm her sire and brother down. "Mrs Witwicky! I'm a friend of Mikeala!"

The bat halted just before it hit her forehead and she couldn't help but flinch back for a moment as the older woman took stock of who she'd been trying to hit.

"Wait… Narisa! I told you to wait outside!" Mikeala pipped up, Nova thanked Primus himself for letting her catch on quickly enough.

So, she did the same. "That was before the Earthquake! I decided a house would be more stable than the trees!"

Mrs Witwicky stared between the two before looking to her son. "A threesome for your first time Sam? Ohhh! Ron! Our boys going to the big leagues!"

She heard Sam choke on his own tongue and Mikeala snort a horrified laugh.

Outright lost she looked up what the woman had just said, and it seemed Mikeala was the one to notice Novalight's face quickly forming on of horror.

She barely caught herself when her holoform keeled over to the side from lack of focus on it, quickly making it look like she'd stumbled out of surprise as she went to rebuke the claim. Only to end up getting tongue tied and exclaiming something which sounded akin to 'mouldy onions'.

Mrs Witwicky quickly placed the bat against the wall and stepped over to her. "Oh I'm sorry, was that not why you came?"

Mr Witwicky then piped up going back into the corridor with his flashlight in hand. "Judy! You just mentally scared the poor girl! Miss, I apologise for my wives actions."

She waved them off as she pulled herself back together. "Its fine… just wasn't expected to nearly be given a concussion by a woman wielding a bat and then that same woman insinuates I'd get down and dirty with a kid I met today."

"You were at the Lake Party Yesterday! You rode back to Mikeala's in my car!"

She almost called him out, but then remembered the not in the loop parents standing between them and quickly caught himself. "Ah, that was over 24 hours ago, ok, I met him yesterday, are you happy I corrected myself Sam? I was only three hours nine minutes off you know!"

Mikeala snorted, moving into the corridor and pulling her through into Sam's room. "Easy there Narisa, no need to maul the guy."

Novalight grumbled something, they didn't hear it but, she was content with keeping the multiple vulgar Cybertronian curses to herself, what with unknowing humans standing right there.

Mr Witwicky then began the conversation they'd had before, moving into the teens bathroom.

The room her true form was watching Prime look into.

:Prime! Get out of the window!: She shouted over the com-link, jolting the large mech and spurring him to make a sudden turn and slam himself against the building.

Novalight's holoform, and the humans, where all thrown a bit off balance by the sudden impact, Mr Witwicky already bolting for the tub shouting about aftershocks.

Once she was able to pull herself away from the shelf she'd latched onto like a life line she took stock, Mikeala was looking out the window waving at all of them to get clear, Mrs Witwicky was trying to coax her husband out of the bathtub, and Sam was having an outright panic attack from where he'd fallen face down into his bed.

"Oh God, Judy! The Yard is trashed!" Mr Witwicky groaned. "We got a blown transformer over here… call the authorities, it's trashed! Gone! All that work wasted!"

Novalight's opinion on what had happened was very different, seeing as she was laying cloaked in the middle of said trashed garden, she could clearly see Prime partially sitting on the houses lower roof, he certainly was an Earthquake machine it would seem when he was being a little less than the level of grace he could muster.

She barely held in the laugh as she took note of how Bumblebee was somehow able to crawl around under the veranda by flattening his doorwaings to his back strut and Jazz had joined him just under the humans feet, whilst her sire tried to keep a hyperactive Ratchet under control.

As the humans continued to gripe about the lawn, she could feel her sire become quite peeved off. "The human creators are quite a nuisance… I could terminate." Now, she knew he was joking, she'd grown up with his type of humor, Prime especially though, did not seem to appreciate it at present.

"Ironhide!" He hissed, trying not to draw attention despite his very much vibrant now blue with red and orange flame paintjob, it was a nice change, but it made him stick out like her voice after she got her clawed digit stuck in a closing door that one time.

They'd heard her in Tyga Pax her engines had roared so loud, having not been thinking enough to put the silencers on

"We don't harm humans! What's the matter with you?!" Her Prime hissed.

She watched her sire grumble and disengage his leviathan cannons. "It was an option… wasn't actually gonna do anything… Nova, go scout the area, because of Ratchet here and his two left pedes, there could be humans on their way." He whispered in the general direction of where she was.

Nodding despite them not being able to see her she finally pushed herself up off the ground and shook herself as carefully as she could to dislodge to remains of the fountain which had gotten between the plates of her legs, and whatever organic matter which had decided to migrate into her frame.

With a level grace the others had shown none of during their entrance into the garden she stepped over the fence and jumped up onto the roof of the neighbour's house, landing on all fours to soften the impact moderately, wincing when some of the shingles where knocked loose and clattered to the patio below, letting off a near silent string of curses as she then leapt up again, knocking more shingles off and making a bigger racket still, before engaging her thrusters and lifting up into the air at a speed quite a bit lower than usual, given she was only really meant to scope out the area and not go and break the speed of sound.

 _"_ _That was about as gracefull as a turbo bull in Gruncle Que's lab."_ Bumblebee declared.

She was tempted to whack him when she got back down there, but she had a job to do, before she had time to respond, her exterior optical sensors spotted something, a line of six black tinted windowed jeeps, closing in.

She'd seen enough human movies to know exactly what that meant.

:Guys! We gotta book it! Men in Black incoming eleven o'clock! In other words, GET OUT OF THERE!:

The reaction was nigh instantaneous, and within half a minute they'd all vanished out of sight into the back alleys

Propelling herself back down she landed back on the roof of the neighbour's house, this time, no shingles met their end, and from her position, she was given a bird's eye view of them all, her holoform was still with the humans, and she cursed her misfortune when she realised the house was surrounded, she'd have to interact.

She was so screwed.

Her holoform was still up in Sam's room, well aware of who was outside when the others went to head downstairs, Mikeala being the last to do so, acting quick she grabbed her charge by the arm and pulled her back. "It's the FED's she hissed through clenched teeth.

Mikeala's eyes widened with shock as it set in. "Why are you still here?! Get out!" She hissed back.

"Already have, I'm the only one still in the immeditate area, and don't worry, they can't catch me. Nothing has ever caught me, and nothing ever will, I can assure and promise you that." She shot her a bright smile.

Footsteps up the stairs had Novalight pulling her charge behind her, the holoforms teeth gritted as her bipedal claws dug into the roof she was crouching on, coiled tight like a spring in preparation fo defending her charge,

Yes she couldn't be Bumblebee when it came to helping out his charge.

But now, the ends, in her book, justified the means.

If she had to attack, if they threatened her charges life, she would do what she had to.

Spitter seemed to almost purr from where he was holstered on her hipplate, it was probably all in her helm, but she didn't hesitated to coil her digits around the back of the two grips of a weapon she knew could level this entire neighbourhood if she was so tempted.

Two men entered Sam's room, their sunglasses instantly gravitating to the two woman, taking immediate note of the defensive position the oddly dressed one was in and how the other younger woman was held behind her, the man on the right held a strange device, which had been pinged louder and louder as they rose up the stairs. "Ma'am's we need you to come downstairs with us." The one on the left spoke.

Novalight barely held back a snarl. "Not gonna happen." She felt Mikeala dig her nails into to the back of her purple and white top.

The other one spoke up, stepping forwards slightly, the device in his hand beeping even more insistently, and it dawned on Novalight, she knew exactly what that was. "Mrs, we are not giving you an option."

She smirked, hiding the growing concern and fear behind a thick wall of bravado and confidence. "I get told that quite a lot, and do you know how I respond to that load of bull shit?" For once remembering the necessity of getting the curse right.

They exchanged a glance, looked down at the now haywire machine, which was going to blow in three… two… one…, the device detonated ripping cries from the two men as the one holding it was forced to drop it, and the other failed to get away in time to avoid getting burned by hot metal, and that was all the time she needed.

Spinning she grabbed Mikeala up in a bridal carry, and jumped out the partially open window, smashing it with her head and curling around Mikeala enough to protect her from the glass shrapnel.

Her holoform landed in her cloaked servo, looking like she was floating in mid air for a moment, before jumping to land on the narrow fence just as the two men began shouting and rushed to the window, as those in the garden who'd been previously digging up the garden, starred in shock.

Mikeala's eyes where blown wide and she clenched her arms tight around the holoforms neck, in another time, she would have been in awe at how human she felt, right down to the fast paced pulse the thing currently had.

It wasn't real, but by god it was scarily realistic.

The men where already rushing for her when Novalight began sprinting across the narrow fence, letting off an elated cry as she jumped over a bush, flipping in the process before landing and then jumping into the alley behind the garden, she didn't put her charge down though and continued to run instead, as her bipedal form leapt from the roof, silently hovering above them.

Bolting down the alley way she heard shouts of 'HAULT' and 'STOP!' She almost laughed at the ludicrously of the notion she'd actually stop and let them take her and Mikeala.

Rounding a corner she hopped another fence, this time staying in her bipdal forms servo as she knelt down on the garden, watching as she had her holoform finally put the human down. "Wanna go for a flight?" She whispered, shifting into her alt mode once the human was on the ground, her holoform remaining close to her side as her cockpit slid open, something she'd never really done before, never having had a minicon or the like willing to ride with her into battle or between bases.

Her holoform quickly helped her scale her left wing and over to the only part of her which was actually visible.

"The seat may feel a little off." She mumbled, helping her slide in.

Mikeala wiggled in her seat for a moment, before looking up at her holoform in alarm. "What was that thing?!"

Glancing towards the windows of the house she was currently parked in the garden of, she was glad to see that there weren't any lights on. Kneeling against the rim of her cockpit she whispered. "Energon scanner, a primitive one, couldn't handle the juice my holoform puts out, now hold tight, your about to go on the flight of your life."

Before Mikeala could say anything, strange cable like straps had wrapped around her chest and waist, holding her snuggly to the weird fabric like seat.

She knew it wasn't fabric though, and given she had no idea what any of the dials or pretty much anything which surrounded her was, she assumed Novalight hadn't actually acquired a 'human friendly' alternative form.

Which meant everything was pretty much, not of Earth, unlike what her little brother was like, all leather and varnished wood.

This was getting too much, she didn't even notice the cockpit had slid shut until a sudden burst of force on her chest jolted her back to the reality that she was now rocketing away from the neighbourhood they'd just been.

Glancing back as well as she could, she spotted the tiny specks of Sam and his parents, maybe his dog too, being dragged roughly towards separate SUV's.

"Novalight… go back…" She mumbled.

"Can't, those guys have energon scanners, I've already reported to Prime, he's forbidden me from going back until we've regrouped and besides… he's already planning how to get mister whiny back, given Bee's giving me a ton of scrap over the bond.

"Why didn't you try to get them too?"

"Mikeala, please, understand, I nearly knocked my holoform out jumping out of a window once, and, if I'd stayed, they would've found me soon enough, those things as I said, where energon scanners, and are live blood is energon, at least now, one of you lot are safe, besides, humans don't just kill other humans under suspicion right?"

Mikeala winced at how surprisingly innocent that notion had been, no real sarcasm in it outside of the natural dose she seemed to add to everything as an undertone. "Not exactly… a lot of the world, even here in the US, is pretty violent… and murderous…"

There was a whole minute of silence as Novalight began a circle around the area, keeping the Witwick's neighbourhood on the horizon.

"Humans… you humans are surprisingly similar to us Cybertronians… scarily similar…"

Mikeala gulped at what Novalight said. "Then why are you here? I mean, I know Optimus said you need the Cube… but why are you interacting this much with me and Sam?"

"First off, the glasses, they're vital to finding the cube… second, if we just left you after all this without protection… the chance of a Con seeking you out to do away with you just to spite us isn't likely… it's guaranteed… and finally… you're also similar to us in good ways… you guys are worth protecting, and keeping safe from Decepticon Tyranny." She finally declared.

Mikeala stared at the alien console before her, watching the holographic display which showed them moving at a speed couldn't quite believe, exactly 0.9% below the speed of sound if her math was right, it was truly incredible how advanced they were… and she was sitting inside one… she was _sitting_ _inside Novalight_.

"Does this… does this feel weird to you? Me… sitting here?"

A chuckle came through the cockpit. "Frag yeah, why do you think Bee couldn't wait to get me out of him yesterday? Oh that sounded so, so wrong... ugh..."

Mikeala took a moment to realise the implication, inevitably blushing an incredibly prominent red. "Oh god… I had you sit… inside… oh god that must have been so awkward!"

Another chuckle. "Yeah, and I just realised we'd both vowed never to speak of it, I seem to be tossing a lot of things out the window recently, the 'don't reveal yourself to humans too soon' the 'don't harm humans' the 'don't say something you vowed not to say' I seem to of developed quite the scatter processor…"

Mikeala chuckled at how she sounded when she said that, akin to a pouting child.

"Novalight?"

"Yeah?"

"Did… did you get a childhood? Or… whatever you guys call it?"

Again, a long, drawn out silence, the air became thick and Mikeala kicked herself internally for just asking that without thinking.

"I… I wouldn't call it a 'younglinghood' per see… the war made things difficult, I couldn't leave the base until I proved I could shoot a mech dead… but they did try keeping me entertained, why I'm addicted to blowing stuff up, Aunty Flareup would just pick me up without warning and kinda kidnap me so we could go blow stuff the frag up. I spent most of my time in their, helping make more weapons and upgrade them, or flying around like a lunatic."

Mikeala hummed, taking note that Novalight was now descending back towards what looked like a large road, with a bridge running across it, she wasn't quite sure where they were though. "Err Novalight?"

"One, call me Nova, and two, Prime's orders, we're about to get Sam back, he still has the glasses." She responded. "Don't worry, we'll get your potential mate back."

Que the human in her cockpit turning as red as one of those fruits they mass produced.

"I'M NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND!"

She was still laughing her thrusters off when she landed, being careful not to hit any of her unit, seeing as they were already all there, with Prime standing a little way down the road.

Dropping her cloak she opened her cockpit to let the now horribly red woman out, who ended up kicking her tire once she was on the ground. "You're the worse!"

Transforming she smirked and shrugged her shoulderplates. "Probably."

Glancing around at the slightly irritated looks Jazz, Ratchet and her sire where giving her, she ducked her helm slightly. "Sorry, got carried away there."

Bumblebee had his radio mumble something incoherent before promptly flipping her off, she almost laughed again, but chose to instead focus on the fact that Prime was about to walk out onto a highway and give his two sense about a certain line of black SUV's

"This is gonna be fun~"

* * *

 **You'll be the judge of that next chapter, now then, hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I know I did, wish I could say the same for the next, but oh well, already started Chapter 14, hopefully don't get hit by writers block and life again, but it's a high probability, so, until next I update, see yah!  
**

 **Moon**


	13. Well, Shit just hit the fan

**Ok, first of, the next chapter, gah it all came out at once and I'm really glad I could do that again... this chapter though... err... well... 'gulps' Don't hate me too much ok? I know you'll want my head mounted on your wall by the end, but think of it like this, you kill me, and I won't be able to remedy what happens! Ok? Good! Novalight now belongs fully to me as Autobot-Metallah (formerly Lunarbust) Has handed all the reins fully over to me (They actually did that a while ago) so yeah, Novalight belongs to me, everyone else to Hasbro. Now, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please don't make a lynch mob with my name the only one on your list? Please?**

* * *

Chapter 13

Optimus was none too gentle with his method of stopping the convoy, Novalight couldn't hold in the absolutely elated trill which left her as glass and inferior metal crumbled against Prime's shin, slamming the previously proud non sentient vehicle to a whimpering halt.

Novalight didn't say it out loud, but she internally acknowledged the fact that she'd taken a picture of the stunning carnage Prime had done to that vehicle in the moment of impact, it was the perfect angle, showing the shards of metal, glass and plastic which flew out from either side as the lights gave their final flicker.

A servo clamping down on the shoulder Mikaela wasn't sitting in jolted her back to reality, optics languidly sliding to take note of her sire giving her a warning look, he knew first servo how little carnage she'd been able to create recently, and her outright destroying those vehicles would not have boded well for possible Cybertronian/Human relations further down the road.

With a grumble she relented, rolling her shoulderplates so as to dislodge her sires grip, whilst being careful not to jostle or damage her charge.

She turned back in time to see the now roofless vehicle crash back to the ground and Prime disinterestedly toss the roof away into the medium.

Now she really wanted to bust one up.

If Prime could rip one open like a can, why couldn't she body slam and turn one of the other quickly emptying vehicles into a pile of molten goo and ash?

"Novalight, cease those thoughts, focus." Her sire growled.

She went bolt upright immediately, jerking her helm to him in surprise.

"There is a time, and there is a place for senseless chaos, now is not one of them, so behave!" He declared.

She backed up a bit, only to hear Prime's call in relieve the humans of their weapons.

Activating her cloak, a moment later she leapt up and vaulted over the top of the bridge, landing in a crouched position as a servo came up to brace her charge. "I got yah." She mumbled, even though her attention was on the ground as she tried to come to terms with what her sire had just told her.

She felt something knot in the back of her throat cables, and slowly, she rose, drew her weapon, and shook her helm, trying to focus on the task ahead, just like he wanted her to.

"Freeze!" One of them shouted, she wasn't sure who, she was more caught with watching all the little weapons being ripped from the humans by Jazz's rarely used magnetic abilities, it was always fun to watch their expressions when Jazz did that, it always made her feel better as a youngling when the base was under attack, it gave her hope, a disarmed Con, was a offline Con.

"Wow!" The human with his hands up in the air called, she assumed trying to placate them called.

Nova chuckled under her vent and nudged Mikeala with the side of her helm, taking note that the human too had somehow been caught in her cloak, turning her invisible, she'd never known it could do that. "Hold tight, from what I've seen, humans are just as unpredictable as us 'Bots." She tried to joke, but kept her focus on the humans, now that they were all disarmed and couldn't aim their weapons at her charge.

"And there's another one!" The shout came up almost immediately after she dropped her cloak, letting it dissipate in a cloud of pixels.

It was Sam who stood up next from the wreckage and hopped out of the destroyed vehicle, still handcuffed and starring at them, but for some reason, when it came to the two of them, primarily Mikeala, he looked away.

Seeing this the two exchanged a quick glance, Novalight still holding Spitter at the ready, the large weapon purring in her servos, although to those in its sights, he sounded more like a growl.

With a quick glance down, Novalight nodded, taking the servo keeping Spitter steady away from the front and using it once again as a small platform for Mikeala to stand on as she lowered the human female to the ground, allowing her to hop off as Novalight remained in her now knealing position, her own processor suddenly unable to silence itself like it normally would.

It was beginning to scare her, how with just her sire's words, she'd forgotten how to drown herself out.

Her free servo laid on the ground for a few moments, before moving on its own accord, and wrapping around her lucky charm, the fang with hers and the twin's designations engraved on it, her clawed digit sliding along the grooves which made up hers, as the palm rested against the twins'.

Mikeala was quick to rush to Sam's side, but when she reached for the cuffs, he jerked away slightly. "Juvie huh?" Was all he said.

Mikeala froze, and Novalight spotted one human in particular, produce a smug smirk, he'd done something.

"Hey! Human with the face not even a scraplet would want! The frag you say?!" She shouted, jolting all the humans and even Jazz who'd been right next to her at the time, and hadn't been expecting her sudden vocalisation.

The man turned, but not to her, instead focusing on Optimus as he knealt down, faceplates marred by a disapproving frown. "Hi there." The human declared, sounding a bit panicky if the tremble in his voice was anything to go by.

There was a few beats of Optimus glanced around at his unit, taking a cautious note of each ones displayed emotions, especially the irritation Novalight was exerting, he was moments from telling her to ease off when she seemed to do it herself, falling back into herself and becoming stoic.

A glance to his weapons specialist confirmed his budding concern, Novalight was, out of nowhere, starting to act, off.

And the tinge of dawning confusion in her sires optics, only cemented the concern, but, that would have to be dealt with later, the humans had to be addressed first. "You do not seem afraid? Are you not surprised to see us?"

The man, from what Novalight could catch from between the gaps of her internal musings, was the leader of the group.

"There… there are S-7 protocols, I'm not allowed to communicate with you, except to say, 'I cannot communicate with you' is that understood?" The man stuttered out.

Optimus's response was to growl out his next words. "Get out of the car…"

There was a bunch of mumbling from the two humans left within the trashed vehicle as they went to move, quickly spurred on their way by an 'encouraging' shout from the mech currently towering over them, despite his lowered position similar to Novalight's own.

The next point that Novalight took close note of, was when Mikeala moved back over to her, tucking up against the inside of her clawed pede and clinging to it, her expression marred with distress.

A glance to Sam, now free from handcuffs, showed him trying to interrogate the leader of the group, and getting nowhere with that endeavour.

Diverting her attention back to her charge she shifted her free servo to them, palm up and digits spread out invitingly.

The human teen wasted no time in clambering onto the space just large enough for her to sit on, and clinging to the thumb digit like a lifeline as her guardian lifted her up to her faceplates. "Hey, what's wrong Miki?" She whispered, trying to divert the teens attention to her.

"Sam… they told him about my record… my chance at being his friend? Ruined…" She mumbled, averting her gaze.

That was all Novalight needed to hear, a quick repeat of what had just been said to the others over the com-link, and she was walking away from the group, activating her cloak, and laying down, placing the teen onto the small divot in the middle of her chassis, above where her spark was, seeing as it was getting a bit chilly, she didn't mind personally, that srea had already met a billboard this night, a little human finding a degree of comfort was nothing to concern herself about. "Hey…" Not even two words in, and she realised she had no idea how to properly speak to her charge about this. "Scrap… ok…look, don't let whatever they said get to you, instead, show them exactly why they shouldn't mess with yah, I now you're not exactly as…err… armoured and armed, as us Cybertronians, but that doesn't mean the… err, Primus what do you call your version of a Spark… a heart! The heart hidden under all that flesh isn't just as strong and willing to show just how you shouldn't be messed with! So, punch someone in the face for me ok? Between the legs works just as well if not better if what I've seen from your movies mean anything. Oh, can I punch one too?" She whispered the last part, before catching herself after a quick glance to where the others were still keeping the suited humans in check. "Damnit, forgot the no harming humans rule there for a second, forget I said that last bit about me punching them, you go for it though!" She chirped, picking up her confused charge and rolling upright and moving back to the others, dropping her cloak and putting her charge on the ground. "Knock'em dead~" She called as Mikeala shook her head to regain her bearings and strode right towards the only man to of really spoken so far, grabbing Sam by the shoulder and beginning a heated conversation, Novalight followed, taking only a few steps to catch back up, and in turn causing the other suited aliens of Earth to jolt.

The only thing she did though was take Spitter back out from his holster and instead hold it so that she could tap his side against her leg. Her other servo moving upwards to play with her fang necklace, optics flicking around the others and their confused expressions whenever they looked over at her.

Of course they'd be confused, they'd never seen her fall into a state of internal musing.

 _"_ _Nova? Something wrong runt?"_ Her sire asked, shifting so he was facing her and not the others.

She just nodded, focusing back on her charge, and her little brothers charge who seemed to of sorted out whatever had caused the previous rift, and instead had turned their full attention on the head man in front of them.

"Big guys with big guns, huh? Cool, cool, and you're the one who left with an unknown woman through a now shattered window." He added, pointing to Mikeala.

Sam jerked back, looking to Mikeala who shot him a bashful look before he turned to look at Novalight. "You…. Broke my window?!"

Novalight shrugged. "Think of it as pre-emptive retribution for being ass over the fact that she did something… which I have no real idea about what Mikeala here did, and I think I just confused myself." She grumbled, folding her arms over the large scrape which ran all the way down her frame from her previous encounter with the billboard earlier that night, thoroughly miffed at her self-confusion.

Sam groaned and shook his head, turning instead back to the man who'd made the revelation about the broken window. Reaching into the mans pocket and drawing a badge. "Hey! You touch me? That's a federal offence!"

Sam just shook the badge in front of him. "Do whatever you want and get away with it badge, right?" He mocked, waving the badge in front of him.

Novalight had to give him that one, and barely held in the snicker which came up from how he'd just done that.

"Now then, who is S7?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"What did you do with my parents?"

"I'm not authorised to tell you that young man."

"How do you know about the aliens?"

He was about to brush them off again when Novalight took a harsh step forwards and brought Spitter round so that his nozzle was pointed directly at the mans head. "Don't bother Miki, a scraplet humper like this slagger ain't worth our time if he can't be bothered to answer a single damn question with even the most simple of answers." She growled.

Optimus was pushing her weapon away a moment later. "Novalight, stand down." He warned.

Novalight huffed and moved her beloved weapon back to against her hip. "I wasn't actually gonna shoot him, he'd make too much of a mess, and besides, how are we supposed to keep them from squealing? They know we're here now Prime." She shot back.

Ironhide was quick to grab her by the cuff and pull her back to his side. "Behave Runt." He warned.

Novalight growled and squirmed free. "I'm just trying to state a point! Fine then, Miki, Sam, it's your call, what do you want to do with them?" She enquired after she was fixed by a hard glare.

She was just starred at.

Glancing around she let of a low growl under her vents. "I don't trust these humans, something in my drive telling me letting them be is a bad idea… I'm gonna scout the area." Before they could try to stop her she'd launched into the air and shot away with a clamorous roar as her hydra energy drive engaged, her cloak forming a few moments later as she disappeared into the clouds above.

She held a holding pattern once she'd reached a safe height, her scanners primed on the area surrounding her unit.

"Gah, why can't they see those humans are up to no good?! They had a fragging energon detector, they know about us! … But why would they listen to me? I'm just the crackpot femme who can't pull her helm out of the mushroom cloud, and had her helm banged in by a bunch of rubble!" The emotions within her quickly erupted into anger, and self-loathing.

"Oh who am I kidding?! That's all I've ever been!" She pulled a hard, armour shaking right which almost caused her to go into a wild spin with the forces being put on her by her own rate of speed.

"Just the defective little youngling in an adults frame, who's got too many screws loose for anyone to bother fixing!" Her form barrel rolled, arching up higher into the sky as the roar of her engines continued to get louder.

The sound finally broke through her and she throttled back, watching the air rush by her as her frames momentum kept her going for a good mile, before losing enough momentum to send her into a downwards arch, just before she hit stalling speed, she reengaged her engines, just in time to spot a legion of black helicopters and heavily duty vehicles getting closer to where her unit and family were.

"Scrap!" She hissed. _"Incoming hostiles! Get outta there! They called for the reinforcements!"_ She called over her bonds, banking away from where they were, intending to intercept. She'd show she could be responsible, she'd just distract them, lead them away, then leave them in the dust, simple as.

 _"_ _Runt! Do not engage! Prime's orders!"_

 _"_ _I ain't gonna engage… unless absolutely necessary! I'm gonna distract them so you can get your afts out of there! Bee! Get Miki and your horny charge and get outa there!"_ She called, just as she dropped her cloak and shot by right in front of the lead chopper.

 _"_ _Novalight! Get back here! We're moving out together!"_ Her sire roared over the bond.

 _"_ _To late, they're already on my tail. Once you've all gotten away from the area I'll lose them and come back around to join, promise."_ She responded before closing down the bond, putting her complete focus on just going slow enough to keep their attention on her.

The longer she could keep them occupied the better.

That was when she realised something, the armoured vehicles wouldn't have followed her, they were still going after the others.

With a growl of her engines she steeled herself, they could take care of themselves… but she apparently, was the only one willing to defend herself against them…

Deciding to keep their attention she pulled herself into a harsh barrel roll, letting off a thunderous roar from her engines as the fire burning within her began appearing out of her exhausts.

If she wasn't careful though, she'd burn through her reserves, and she hadn't topped up since the morning.

But she couldn't stop now, so instead she pulled a hard left again, turning to face the helicopters, and raced towards them.

They tried to take evasive action, like a flock of pigeons getting charged like a falcon, but, she just used it to her advantage, and weaved between them, barrel rolling again to avoid ones rotor blades which would have easily sliced her light weight armour to pieces.

It certainly got their attention, she meant business.

And by the hail of bullets she now had to swerve, dive and roll to avoid, so did they.

She felt a chuckle rise up from within her, and the strange state took over before she could calm herself.

Without even hesitating, she spun to face them, and opened fire.

She'd get in trouble for it later, but she was too overtaken by the sheer thrill and enjoyment seeing them scatter to avoid the hail of blue energy bolts she was firing, she wasn't actually aiming at them, and hadn't hit a single one, but at this point, she knew they'd be too busy with their dog fight with her to think of going after her family.

Then, a new sound caught her concealed audios.

Engines, fighter jet engines.

The reinforcements had called for reinforcements.

With a growl Novalight pushed herself skywards in a sharp corkscrew, watching as the helicopters tried to follow, but their manner of flying simply couldn't match her ability to climb almost vertically safely.

The jet fighters on the other servo, oh they were hot on her tail.

And they were very much as trigger happy as the helicopters.

That's when she took note of the area around them, desert, barren, perfect, she'd lead them far enough away.

Upon this realisation she levelled out, and shot further into the barren landscape they'd found themselves in, leading the twenty odd vehicles now fixated on her tail.

Then, she activated her cloak again, and ramped up the throttle.

She left them in the dust with the thunderous clap of a sonic boom.

Once she'd left them behind far enough, she slowed enough to safely bank a gradual right, speed back up, and pass the military vehicles still pursuing her without even alerting them to her presence, thankfully it was too dark to spot her engines white smoke trail.

She was closing in on her family units bonds when she spotted something which chilled her spark to the very core.

She hadn't diverted all of the aerial vehicles.

And four, had her little brother harpooned, and held to the ground.

Fear gripped her spark for a single moment, followed by horror, shock, and disbelief.

Then, it turned to an unhinged rage.

She'd almost lost her little brother once to Megatron, she wasn't losing him again to humans.

With a roar which didn't come from her engines, or seemingly any part of her frame, she transformed mid-air, dropped her cloak, crashed her shoulder armour into one of the helicopters, and with the other arm, drew Spitter, and shot the chain it had wrapped around her brother's wrist with a sticky grenade, the device detonating a mere moment later.

The explosion wasn't a large one, one of her weaker actually, but it did the job of severing the chain half way down, freeing her little brothers arm.

But she didn't stop there, she turned her attention to the others, optics focusing only on the other chains, leaving her unaware of her Prime roaring for her to stop, her sire doing the same, the sudden flare of confusion from the previously unused bond with her carrier, and the look of horror on her own little brothers faceplates.

She didn't see the strange blood maroon glow which had encompassed her, the hell fire red her optics had turned, The way her wings were now encompassed by far reaching bird like apparitions, the six bladed tail which ripped through the air, and the snake like head which rose over her own, eyes black voids, but mouth wide open and burning the same hell fire red as she continued to fire off round after round, unaware of how quickly her energon levels were being drained as the apparition aided her, ripping into anything which got to close as she landed on the ground, tail and wings lashing out and beating back anyone who came too close.

It would of continued, she would of continued to destroy everything in the blind rage, would of killed every single human scum that was attacking her.

But then, a single gunshot rang out, and met its mark.

After that, she felt nothing, except a burning pinch in the back of her neckcables, ut it was only for a moment, her frame went numb, and the apparition let off an agonised bellow as it shattered, wings raised and black voids being overrun by the hell fire which fled from her own optics, then, it was seemingly pulled back into the fang necklace around her now torn to ribbons neckcables.

The scatter shot had done its job.

And with a final ping of dangerously low energon levels, Novalight slipped into oblivion.

The area fell dead silent for all but a minute, before a child's scream echoed from Bumblebee's radio as his half frozen form tried to crawl to his sister, baby blue optics wide as he felt the bond he'd held with her his entire living memory begin shattering, trying to get to his sister, who now lay still and motionless, energon pooling under her neck, dripping down from the wound and to mix with the dribble coming from her open lipplates, her faceplates resting against the ground, but he could still see how blown wide and dull and dimming further her optics were, and how they slowly drifted to him, glazed over and unseeing.

'Nova! Nova! NOVA! WAKE UP!' The words where a garbled mix of letters, but there was no response, and once he spotted the grey beginning to take over her frame, his will to get to her fell to pieces, and he succumbed to the continuing icy onslaught the humans were putting on him.

On the bridge above, Ironhide slumped against the still tight hold of Ratchet and Jazz his processor and spark trying to deny what he was seeing.

"No… for the love of Primus no… don't… don't take them from me…" He didn't even care about the pitiful whine that followed.

The bond with his mate was wide open, and all he could do was confirm what they were both feeling.

They'd just lost their daughter to the Well of All Sparks.

He didn't even fight as Jazz and Ratchet pulled him away from the side of the bridge, all he did was reach out to his now in stasis son, and try and calm the unresponsive life force of his now only creation.

Then, he spotted the perpetrator, the same human male who Novalight had threatened to shoot not half a human hour prior.

A fire grew then, maybe not now, but soon, he'd avenge his daughter.

But with that fire, grew his own loathing for himself, the last thing he'd said to her, was a barked command, and now, he'd lost his chance to say good bye, because she'd been ripped from him too fast for him to react.

He didn't even care about that thing which had surrounded her, the creature, it was irrelevant.

He'd lost his daughter.

He'd lost one of the lights in his life…

The world might not of even existed for all Ironhide could care, all he could do was cling to the strained bond he held with his sparkmate and that of his unresponsive son, and try to reach out to the bond which was no longer there, the last thing he'd sent across being a harsh, barked order.

Hers a determined statement, and promise.

"Runt… you broke your promise…" A choked sob left him despite his best attempts to keep himself together, earning a tight squeeze of the shoulderplate from his Prime.

He didn't care about the creature which had formed behind and around her, didn't care how it had come from the piece of jewellery she'd had on her frame as a lucky charm since Bumblebee's first mission.

He didn't care that Prime and the others were trying to discuss what to do now, now that they were down two members.

All he cared about is memorising that damn humans face, the one who'd stolen his daughter from him with a single shot, the same human she'd threatened to shoot not half a human hour before, and burning the memory of his strong willed daughter fighting her final fight, especially the moment it was brutally cut short.

Then, he pounded his fist into the asphalt, and lowered his helm to the ground. "You promised Nova, and you broke it… and now… you're grounded… permanently…"

* * *

 **'Hides in a nuclear bunker and seals all entrances' Ok, ok, ok, I can understand if your upset with what I've just done, but remember, this story's been breaking a lot of norms... And I am making no difference to your mood probably... well, I'm doomed, I'll be staying in here from now on.**

 **There will be more chapters, there's a whole lot of chapters still to come, this is not the ending, as I said up top, the next chapter is already ready to go. So, until next I update, I'll be in here!**

 **Moon**


	14. New buddy in an empty place

**'Clambers out of the bunker' Yay! You didn't all go complete rage monsters on me! Proud of you, very proud, thank you GirlWhoLovesAnime for the short bread! So buttery and delicious, yum. Ok, well, this chapter was certainly fun to read, as was chapter 15, told you Nova kicking the bucket wasn't going to be the end! Normal disclaimers are normal, I get bored of putting them in.**

 **Welp, hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 14

The air was a sombre silence as Mikeala and Sam sat together, opposite to them where an African American man and a woman who they gathered came from Australia.

"So…" Sam mumbled, they were both still shaken up from the night before, and Mikieala's eyes were still red from the tears she'd shed during the journey to the landing pad the helicopter they were now in had been waiting for them.

"What'd they get you for?" The blonde woman called over the sound of the rotor blades through the headphones they all had attached to their heads.

"Err, bought a car, turned out to be a giant Alien Robot." He declared, shrugging off handily like it wasn't really anything that special.

"Wow…" The African American murmured.

The Australian woman then turned to Mikeala, extending her hand out to the teen. "I'm Maggie, this is my advisor Glen, your name?" She enquired.

Mikeala let off a barely audible sigh before reaching over and taking the woman's hand. "M-Mikeala…"

Maggie and Glen exchanged a look of concern. "Hey, you ok there? What'd they do to you to get you here?"

Mikeala looked down to her hands, which now twitched with nerves. "Met a girl outside my high school who looked lost, she said she was new to the area, so I invited her to this lake party… we hit it off… she was fun to talk to, all friendly and a little strange, beat up my just then ex-boyfriend, she stumbled over some words, said she grew up in a war zone and wasn't used to American life, a Fighter Jet Mechanic, the next day, she turns out to be his cars older, Alien Jet fighter Sister."

"Dammmnnnn, how awesome is that?!" Glen exclaimed before leaning forward. "She hot?" That earned him a whack over the head from Maggie. "Hey! I was just asking!"

"It doesn't matter… they… these people… killed her…"

There was a long silence after that revelation had left her, Maggie and Glen's faces dropping into those of shock as Sam just nodded to confirm. "My Car, my guardian… got attacked, pinned down, next thing we know, she's appeared out of nowhere and is in some kind of rage, things happened, and they shot her through the neck, and now, they have both her body, and my car held prisoner…"

Maggie let off an almost growl and reached over and placed her hand on Mikeala's shoulder. "Oh jeez, mate look she's in a better place now…"

"I, I know… it's just… not an hour or so prior I was talking to her… and, well, I wish she'd gotten to live, all she'd ever known is war, and now, she's gone, she never got to witness what it's like not to have to wear a weapon on both hips and under every plate… oh god, Sam! Nova's a weapons and demolition expert! If they get a hold of her arsenal…"

"World War Three might become very much a reality…" He mumbled in horror.

"And if they accidentally trigger one of those grenades… who know's how many could get caught in the blast radius!" She was beginning to work herself up into a panic, before being cut off by the pilot alerting them to the fact they were coming in for a landing.

It was around half an hour later that they arrived at Hoover Damn.

As they were getting out of the black SUV's which had brought them, a sound caught Mikeala's attention, causing her to rush past two armed men despite their best attempts to stop her, resulting in her spotting the cause of the sound.

"Bumblebee!" She shouted, watching as the poor mech was routinely sprayed by that freezing chemical, the platform he was held down on followed by one carrying his sister, who'd in death curled into a strange foetal position, exposing the area which had been blown apart for all to see in the day light.

A chocked sob was only just held inside her as the two men pulled her away, but they weren't able to stop Sam, Maggie and Glen rushing to her place instead.

"Oh my god…" Maggie mumbled, stepping back and glaring at the men in sunglasses who were approaching. "You're all sick." She hissed, Glen nodded, but was nowhere near as hostile.

They didn't say anything, and instead lead them towards what looked like a lift down to the lower levels of the damn, the bridge to the lift lined by a group of soldiers, with an all too familiar agent in the middle.

"You…" Mikeala snarled, squirming her way free from the two men's now looser hold, she was moments from unloading on the man when he turned his attention to Sam.

"Hey kid, I think we got off on the wrong foot, you must be hungry? Thirsty what-cha want? Mocha? Espresso? Double Mocachino?"

"Where's my car, and on that topic, who the fuck gave you the right to take a life?!" Sam snapped back, catching the soldier's attention and even that of the elderly man who'd been addressing them.

"One, that thing, was causing mass chaos and was putting the lives of my men at risk, I did what was necessary, now c'mon, we'll talk about your car later." He responded, turning and walking to the lift.

"You killed my guardian! You killed her for trying to protect her little brother from you monsters!" Mikeala shouted, tears forming under her eyes, but her expression one of rage.

That really got everyone's attention, the Captain of the soldiers moving over to Mikeala. "Excuse me miss, but, I think we need an explanation."

Mikeala spun on the Captain then, spotting the name tag 'Lennox'. "My friend, he shot her through the neck and killed her! He killed my guardian!" She exclaimed.

Lennox blinked at her a few times before moving to pull the teen into a hug, realising that the poor teen was beside herself with a grief she couldn't get out of. "Easy, easy, it's gonna be ok…"

"No… No it's not… she was… she was just trying to protect her little brother…"

The other soldiers left their positions then, moving in unison to surround the four civilians as the elderly man pulled the agent away. "You've got a lot of explaining to do." He hissed. "Agent Simmons, you better have one real good explanation as to why you murdered a civilian." He warned.

Agent Simmons just smirked. "Who said she was a Civilian sir? Let alone human?"

That threw the man, but after a moment his glare just furrowed further. "A very good explanation. Alright everyone, let's get a move on and get through this crazy show." He called.

The man was clearly in a position of power with how he carried himself, and so, they followed, not the agents, but this man who Maggie revealed was the Secretary of Defence. John Keller.

It was only when they got out of the lift at the bottom of the damn, that Agent Simmons spoke up again. "Alright! He's the run down, you've all had direct contact with the NBE's!"

"NBE's?" The man who'd introduced himself as Epps spoke up.

"Non-Biological Extra-terrestrials, try to keep up with the Acronyms!" He called.

Lennox, and Epps pulled back from their team, moving back to fall into pace with Mikeala, Sam, Maggie and Glen. "So, what was your 'direct contact' like? Cause we got shot at and nearly killed by a psycho robot, then saved by this lady robot with a grenade launcher." Epps asked.

Mikeala and Sam, just starred at the two, Maggie and Glen doing the same, but their expressions were more that of intrigue. Mikeala being the one to speak. "Nova… Novalight's the only one with a grenade launcher…"

Lennox and Epps starred at the teens in surprise. "Wait, that's what she called herself! How'd you know her?"

Sam took over then. "Nova was her guardian after we found out what they were, and now, she's dead."

It took all of three seconds for the two men to get what was being said, they went to unleash all hell on the agent leading the group, when they entered and large cavern like room, and the thing in the centre, froze them all dead.

"Bye the love of god, what is that?"

* * *

Limbo **(Yes that lovely place)**

"H-hello?"

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"Sire?"

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"Carrier?"

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"Bee?"

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"Please… is… is anyone there?"

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"I… I'm scared…"

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"Some… someone?"

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"Anyone?"

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"Where am… I?"

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"I wanna go home…"

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"For the love of Primus! WHERE THE PIT IS EVERYBOT?!"

"Stop shouting, that hurts…"

"YYAHAAHA NEJURFURAGGING PITTI!"

"Oww."

"WHAT THE FRAG ARE YOU!? WHERE'S SPITTER!? WHERE AM I?! WHY CAN'T I SHOOT YOU IN THE FACE?!"

"Would you please stop screaming?!"

"NO! I WA-mmmph!"

"Ah, finally, silence, although my wings are getting cramps doing this, I'll pull away, if you promise not to continue screaming."

"Hmnnph."

"I will hope that was a yes."

"Ok, what the hell are you?!"

"You should know."

"Yeeeaaaahhhhh… No."

"By the Ancestors, you pulled me out of a wall and kept me as a lucky charm!"

"The fang!? You're the fang?!"

"Yes, well, the embodiment of my spark which, due to an odd set of circumstances, is being slowly pulled into my fang, the only thing left of my original body."

"You have… completely lost me here."

"Evidently… I am, simply put, a Predacon."

"You don't look like one."

"I was… mutated in the egg by a chemical storm… why my egg was left out in that I don't know, but that's how my skull deformed, I lost my terrestrial limbs and basically became a giant winged neon snake."

"Damn… by your size I take it you lived with your difficulties?"

"I had to, back then it was kill or be killed, and be eaten. I will admit though, being able to crush prey and rivals with my coils was a big advantage, then there's the oral lubricant…"

"This isn't going anywhere err… in that direction is it?"

"If you mean I can shoot it out like a neon snake and it is able to temporarily paralyse my prey so I can swallow it without fight, than yes."

"Thank Primus it wasn't what I was thinking."

"... Get your helm out of the gutter."

"So… Predacons have been extinct for what? Billions of years? Right?"

"Time has no relevance here so I have no idea. It's not a commonly discussed subject in the Well."

"So, we're in the Well? Where is everyone?"

"We're not in the Well."

"Then how are we both here? Cause I've pretty much realised that me being one, in negative colours and semi-transparent means my goose is cooked… human term, I actually got one right for a change, it only took me kicking the bucket! Heh, Buckethelm, classic."

"You are aware of your Hydra Energy Drive?"

"It's kinda a part of my anatomy. How would I not know about it?"

"Do you know what they do?"

"Make me go faster?"

"Produce an Artificial version of Allspark Energy."

"What… the legitimate frag?"

"Yes, don't ask me how or anything like that, all I know is that it does, and you've never really moved at a safe speed when those engaged for anybot to know what you were producing."

"Oooh… So… Wait, Artificial? There's no way I could produce the same amount of energy as the Allspark can. No way, uh, uh, nope, nada..."

"Exactly, whenever you flew, the faster you went, the more that was produced, and the more which as a result was absorbed into my fang, and therefore, my spark was gradually pulled from the Well, to where we are now."

"So… I was slowly bringing you back to life?"

"Technically yes, however due to, as I said before, this fang being the only part of my frame left, I would of just been a sentient tooth."

"Ok, so, it wouldn't have been much of a life then?"

"Probably not. But as this has never happened before, I have no idea what may have happened."

"May have?"

"You were offlined, you're not exactly able to fly anymore and energise me as a result…"

"Oh…"

"But, at least you have me now, Master."

"Whoa! Wait there! I am not your Master!"

"You designation, along with your two potential suitors are on my fang, etched in, that means I have been claimed, I am owned by you, thus you are my Master."

"There's no way I'm convincing you otherwise is there? And they are not potential suitors! … I think…"

"There is no conceivable way of convincing me otherwise."

"Well frag… wait, how about Partners! You can etch your designation in me! Then we're equal!"

"Problem, I don't have a designation, unless you call 'deformed one' as a fitting designation for me, which I will accept."

"Ok, whoever called you that needs to be shot."

"No need, I ate them once I was of a great enough size, or they had already been killed by something else."

"Ok, that's pretty damn cool, ok, designation for you… err… flappy?"

"No."

"Crimsa?"

"That's a femme's designation, I am very clearly a mech, and more a maroon and toxic green."

"I couldn't tell; your voice is so raspy… and that means you're in negatives too…. Wait, your not in negatives, this is way too weird…"

"Do I need to prove I am of the…"

"No you do not need to show me that! Hey! Stop laughing at me!"

"My apologies Master, I couldn't resist."

"Gah, I'm starting to think Afthole would be a good designation for you!"

"Oh please no Master!"

"Ok, ok, damn don't give me that kicked petro hound look! How are you even doing that?!"

"Magic~"

"Magic? Magic my rusty aft!"

"Language!"

"Ok, now you just sound like my little brother… damnit… I already miss him…"

"Master, please, don't be distressed, I am sure he is well. But due to your demise, I can no longer see into the world of the living, so I can now only assume."

"Wait… you were watching?! My life?!"

"Through your optics. I did not watch all the time before you start yelling at me, I gave you ample privacy Master, I may look like a neon Snake, but I have the Chivalry of a Giga Tiger."

"Rrrriiiigghht. Anyway, back to designations."

"Maybe something more… exotic?"

"Wait! Exotic! I was bored a human month or so ago and looked up a bunch of human ancient cultures!"

"I must admit I was surprised you lasted six hours, a record I do believe."

"Ah shut up and let me get to the point! You, you look like one of those Ancient… Inky? …Inka? Incas! Ancient Incas! They had a mythical creature which looks a lot like you! Only stone, or alive, unknown which, called a… I will decimate this name I'm certain, a Quetzalcoatl? I get that right?"

"I think you were supposed to roll the 'Zal' a bit longer."

"Never mind, well… ok how about… Qwekie?"

"Are you trying to insult me? Because I must say you are doing an impeccable job."

"Ouch, looks like the Critic rolled out of bed the wrong way today."

"I have never had the luxury of a bed."

"Oh, right, Predacon, ok, how about… Qwezel?"

"I think that's the best we're going to get."

"Qwezel it is then! Etch away!"

"You will have to excuse me Master, my tail is the only thing I can use for such an action."

"I don't mind, already offline remember."

"Oh right, intangible… wait, how did you shut me up earlier?"

"It would seem this place has broken physics."

"Well ain't that just dandy…"

"For now then, you shall remain my Master, and I shall remain as your loyal servant."

"Frag."

"Language Mater, please."

"Right, right, habit."

"Master, are you… are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, now shut up, you're surprisingly warm… and comfy to snuggle..."

"Alllllright… but Master, why your sudden change in mood?"

"I just died… and I just realised that… I don't really have memories to hold onto like other bots do… it's all just one rushed explosion… Messy."

"Master, that is not true, surely there's better memories."

"Like what? I can't even remember my creators, before my Sire found me, my memory's practically blank, blurry images at the best… After that… I just rushed everything… I never stopped, just kept going, gah, I'm such an idiot… a stupid adrenaline junkie in human terms."

"Master…"

"Don't Qwezel, look, I'm sorry your stuck with me… here in what I figure is limbo?"

"Yes, you're correct about our current predicament, you see, your spark recognised my own due to all the time it had been energising it, and I may or may not have snagged your spark on purpose when I saw you heading for the realm beyond."

"So… you wanted me to keep you company?"

"Please?"

"It's not like I can leave anyway…"

"I'm sorry, it was a selfish move… if I hadn't you would have met your carrier…"

"My carrier? What about my sire? They both offlined in that skyscraper collapse."

"I do not know all the details, but apparently, you biological sire has not yet entered the Well."

"I have a _biological_ sire?! _ALIVE_?!"

"I assume so…I never encountered him in the Well, and normally mates stay close to one another. But then I only had the most fleeting of conversations with your carrier as I was pulled from the Well, she didn't even give me her designation. Just told me to keep you safe for her."

"Oh… It's okay, maybe I'll find him some day… when he passes by to the Well… we're stuck here for eternity aren't we."

"Unless something drastic happens, then yes. Once again, I am truly sorry Master, I was not thinking correctly."

"Well at least you're good to cuddle, and talk to… wonder how long it takes before we run out of things to say."

"We'll probably repeat ourselves a lot."

"Think about a lot…"

"Master I…"

"Nova, just call me Nova."

"Master Nova, I admit I am curious about one thing, your relationship with the twin mechs, would you of wanted to take it further? Had this not happened?"

"I don't know Qwezel, I never allowed myself to think long on it."

"Something I hope to help you with, I believe slowing down and thinking, is all we can do now as is…"

"Why are you concerned with them anyway? We'll never see them again now…"

"There's always when they pass on… we may be able to latch onto them… And, their designations are also engraved into the other side of my fang, they are as a result, my secondary masters, but you are the one I shall never disobey."

"Fat chance they'll want us tagging along, they'll probably have found their real mate, why would they want anything to do with me? A lost cause you kicked the bucket millennia before they did."

"Master Nova, please, don't say such things, the red one, Sideswipe, certainly held a great deal of love for you, though I must admit, maybe if they'd seen the softer side of you, the gold one Sunstreaker would of seen sooner that you are far more complex than even you let yourself in on."

"Ok, Qwezel, I think you were looking into the future life of somebot else, what else is there to me than flying fast and blowing stuff up?!"

"You're voice? You're passion for sculpting? You're incredible scientific know-how about weaponry and highly explosive chemicals? You're love of pulling pranks on those who peeve you off? I'm pretty sure I could keep listing, but I think I have confused you."

"My voice? Qwezel, I've only ever used that to yell at people to take cover so something doesn't take their helm off."

"Maybe, but I was able to learn this from your carrier. Her voice could lull a sparkling to recharge in moments, almost did to me, and you inherited to some level her ability to sing, you've just never tried."

"Do I look like a femme who'd just belt out a number whilst there's a fragging war going on?!"

"No, but here, there is no war, just give it a try… please master, prove to yourself your more than just a pyromaniac."

"No, no, and no, I am not embarrassing myself like that… never."

"Very well, I guess we shall just float here in Limbo until you change your mind."

"Ha! You know how stubborn I am."

"Exactly why I'm readying myself for the long haul."

"Afthole."

"You know you care about me."

"How can I not? Despite scaring the scarp out of me via introduction, you're still my lucky charm."

"Master Nova, I'm easily nine times your size length wise, I could swallow you in one go."

"Oh, I kinda worked that out a while ago, you know, you're not exactly shy about your size."

"Why thank you."

"Oh Primus you look like one of those organic Earth Birds right now."

"You think I look like processor-less poultry! My lady I am affronted!"

"Ok, one, call me that not Master, sounds better, and I meant with how you just puffed up! Now you look like you've got fluff coming out of the back of you helm! Well, except those spiky horns of yours."

"They are sensorary nodes, the cables that is, and very well, if you prefer it, then I shall refer to you as My lady Nova."

"Well, it's better than Master."

"Would you prefer Mistress?"

"Primus no, don't want anyone getting the wrong idea here."

"Very well."

* * *

Hoover Damn

After 'NBE-1' had been showcased to the group, and Sam had made a very good point about the likely hood of him waking up and killing everyone, the Agents decided to, after a question from Maggie, to show the other part of their collection.

They didn't get very far though.

Lennox had Simmons pinned to the wall the moment they entered another tunnel, resulting in a slew of guns being drawn.

"You killed a friendly, a potential ally to stopping these Decepticons things! They came to help us! And you killed one of them! Not to mention the one who saved my teams asses back in Qatar!" The man practically roared.

Mr Keller was pushing the two apart with the help of another Agent, they'd learnt was named Banacheck, a moment later. "Captain, explain fully to me your interaction with this NBE."

"Cybertronian, they're called Cybertronian's." Mikeala piped up.

Lennox nodded. "Before we were attacked, a hacker of unknown origin broke through our communication relays, and to my understanding, was the one who raised the alarm about the hostile which ended up tearing up our base."

"How long did the hack take?"

"No idea, Nathanial was up in the control room when it came through."

Nathanial nodded. "Yeah, she was in before we even knew what happened, then the phony Helicopter attacked. A minute or so later, she arrived and well, I quote her. 'just sit pretty and I'll give you a show… might actually look a lot like those Rocky Socky robot games you people have'. Honestly it looked more like a shoot em up." He explained, and then narrowed on Simmons. "And she saved Lennox over here from getting potentially stepped on, and the rest of us from that freak who attacked us."

Lennox nodded. "Yeah, once the assailant had escaped, she stayed behind for a few minutes, told us not to tell anyone, but I guess it's too late now, you know about them, and you killed her. She has a brother you know?"

"Who these assholes are holding prisoner." Sam spoke up. "She was protecting him, for all we know their kind go into those kind of rages naturally to defend their family, like, like a wolf pack!" He nodded.

Simmons scowled. "Then tell that to the sixteen men it hospitalised along with that apparition of hers."

"You impaled her little brother with Harpoons! And you were freezing him!" Mikeala shouted.

"We were trying to nullify a threat to national security!" Simmons tried to defend.

Sam stepped forwards then a poked the man in the chest as he spoke. "Well you might just of made a bigger one, you think they'll want to help us now you've killed the friend of their leaders daughter as well as kidnapped said friends son as well?! We'll be lucky if they stick around for the show if the Cons attack now!"

Mikeala nodded. "You might just have sealed Earths fate. Congratulations, that makes you worse than Hitler."

Mr Keller coughed in to his hand after the beat of silence which followed. "Well then, let us just hope this 'Crown Jewel' will turn out to be our ace in the whole?" He declared.

The two agents nodded, taking the excuse to get out of the situation they'd found themselves in.

But the Secretary of Defence wasn't done. "Also, I think you should put your heads together on a way you can apologise, for this heinous shot to our own foot. Because honestly, if it was my daughter you'd just murdered, and my son you just kidnapped, I doubt I'd be in any way willing to help you, period."

The two agents nodded, quickly moving to lead the group towards what they hoped would save their asses.

* * *

 **That Hitler jab was meant to be awkward, and if anyone wants to see what Qwezel looks like, he's in my Gallery on Deviantart, but his characters developed a lot from when I drew him, so he don't look so cute, and the information about him is a little out of date. Welp, hope you all enjoyed that. Nova has a new buddy and is stuck with him in Limbo... Let's see how that goes huh?**

 **Well, until next time, see yah!**

 **Moon**


	15. Tunnels and snakes don't mix, period

**Yay! New chapter! Thine reviews have been answered! Hope you enjoy! Normal desclaimers and all that faff. Keeping it short for the sake of shortness.**

* * *

Chapter 15

By the time he felt the chains holding him down came undone, Bumblebee had all but lost the will to go on, they'd shocked his spark so many times he'd had to completely shut down his bonds with his creators.

Leaving only the broken bond left to cling to.

And be constantly reminded that his big sister was gone.

"Bumblebee! You ok?! C'mon big guy! Get up!" That was his charge.

Why was his charge here?

Why had Novalight felt like she wouldn't be a good guardian?

Why hadn't he tried to comfort her and reassure her that that wasn't the case?

What were they going to do to her? Desecrate here? Open her up to find out how she worked?

"Bumblebee! The Cube's here! And the Decepticons are coming!"

Those three sentences where all the young scout needed to hear to get him moving.

He practically lurched forwards, and as if the sudden movement had jostled his processor, his thoughts went to the humans.

The ones who had hurt him, trapped him, tortured him.

And the human who robbed his big sister from him.

'YOU!' His radio roared as he transformed his cannon and fired it up, glaring down the barrel to where the human was now pinned to the wall in fear. 'YOU! YOU! Took, her, from us! YOU... 'various censor beeps of unknown origin' ...BASTARD!'

Immediately weapons were drawn and primed.

"Whoa! Whoa! Big guy! No need to shoot! He's gonna apologise later!" A man in human fabric armour called from beside where he stood with Sam.

He just growled. 'It, ain't, gonna bring her back!' His radio shouted.

Mikeala bolted forwards a few steps. "Bee, I know you're hurting, when they took my daddy I felt like I was doomed, but Bee, you have to get through this! Nova may be gone but you can't prove to them that you're a killer, you're not a killer Bee." She tried to soothe.

The yellow and black mech starred at her for a moment before bending down and offering his servo to her, there was a slight squirm from the other humans in reaction to the movement from the mech.

Mikeala didn't hesitate to hop on, only to find herself perched up on his shoulder, and Sam was quick to join her up there. 'I don't trust them.' The voice which came out sounded just like that of an old western gunslinger.

He glanced back to the men in the fabric armour. 'You, from Qatar?'

They nodded, Epps being the one to step forwards. "You're that crazy chicks little brother then?"

Bumblebee nodded and transformed his cannon back to his normal servo. 'Yes.'

"You look nothing alike." He tried to joke.

Bumblebee just let off a whirr. 'Adopted.'

"Ooh…" Epps mumbled, falling into place next to Lennox as Bumblebee made his way out of his makeshift prison.

The rest of the humans were quick to follow, at least until Banacheck spoke up, pointing in the opposite direction. "The Cube's that way!"

'And, Nova's, this way.'

There was no argument after that, at least until Bumblebee came to the large door which lead to the temporary holding place of his sister.

He didn't hesitate to blast the door down with a single shot and kick the rest of the door off the hinges.

"HEY! THAT'S EXPENSIVE!" Simmons shouted.

Bumblebee's cannon was pointed at him a moment later. 'My sister, is, invaluable. The, Decepticons cannot get, ahold of her.'

"Why? She's dead! Kaput! Useless!" He called up, completely ignoring how the glow coming from in the cannon was glowing. And how no one was trying to calm the mech.

'She's different, they'll pull her apart, find her, drive, then we'll lose the war.'

Keller frowned and spoke up. "What does this drive do?"

Bumblebee didn't answer, instead pulling the large tarp off his sisters prone and grey form. 'Hydra, Energy, Drive. Makes her, fastest, bot, ever created for the air. If the, 'Cons, get ahold of them, reverse engineer, them, we'll never have a shot again.' He answered, moving forwards to pull her up from her prone position, nudging his now two charges so they would move, which they did, quickly moving to jump down onto the table so that Bumblebee could crush her offline frame to himself, helm bowed against her should plates, trying as hard as he could to ignore how little of her neckcables were holding her helm to the rest of her frame.

'I'm… sorry… I shouldn't of let them catch me… Pri-, mus-… give me strength…' He mumbled through his radio as his frame shook.

A distant explosion however, jolted him and the humans around him from the moment, his optics narrowing as he moved to pull his sisters offline frame into a cradle like hold, for once thankful his sister wore such lightweight armour.

It took them only a minute or two to make it to the chamber holding the Allspark.

With a vent Bumblebee set her frame down, propping her up against a raised platform, letting off a worried keen when her helm rolled forwards, ending up with her faceplates resting against her chassis.

"She's dead alien, deal with it." Simmons huffed. "Now, if you'd so kindly do whatever you crazy fre-ouf!" He was cut off by the butt of Lennox's assault rifle hitting him in the gut.

"Would you keep your fucking mouth shut?! How would you like it if I shot dead your sister and then told you 'deal with it'?" He hissed, watching wearily as the yellow and black scout stopped shaking with an evident rage.

"Um, guys? That thing she's wearing's doin' something." Epps called.

Attention quickly diverted to the fang necklace still somehow around Novalight's neckcables.

Bumblebee let off a confused whirr, remembering vividly the apparition which had appeared from it.

Knealing back down, he placed his pointer digit just in front of the spasaming metal fang, letting off a surprised sound when it jerked towards him, and then veered off, pointing instead to the Allspark which still sat perched in all its gigantic glory behind them.

Bumblebee just stared at it for a moment, before he spotted a strange and familiar maroon red glow.

Carefully, he unhooked the neckcables holding it by the ends as the now levitating fang jerked like an excited dog on a lead towards the Cube.

"What… Bee! What's that thing doing?!" Sam shouted, as the other humans back away, as well as a good majority of those who were already in the chamber.

Bumblebee glanced to his two charges. 'I have no idea… going by my gut…'

"You don't have a gut!" Sam exclaimed, watching wearily as the fang gave an especially insistent and harsh tug, and ripped itself from his guardians grip.

There were a few surprised shouts as it latched itself against the side of the cube, the maroon glow exploding out and spreading out across the cube like a cloud of dry ice.

Bumbelebee jerked forwards, reaching out to pull the fang away, only to jerk back when the Allspark seemed to explode with flashes of blue hued light, all of it feeding into the fang as a loud whirring sound built up, blinding those in the chamber for a few moments, fading only just enough for them after a few long moments to witness the unfurling of a massive snake like creature, who's mouth fell open with a tremendous bellow a moment later.

Instantly the humans reacted, letting out terrified screams as the creatures wings unfurled fully, nearly completely obscuring the cube from view behind it.

It let off a snarl when bullets began to clang off its armour, hell fire optics glaring down at the humans before it had even landed on the ground with an earth shaking thud, it's wings flaring so the metal plates concealed the creature fully from view like a giant shield.

At least until the gun fire quelled just long enough for its horned snake like head burst through with a bellow. "ENOUGH!" It roared, a toxic green glow forming within its open maw after its single word was out. "I WILL NOT HAVE YOU HARMING MY MASTER!" It continued to roar.

The reaction of those surrounding was to remain frozen in place.

With a snarl which exposed rows of smaller serrated fangs lining the inside of its maw, it turned its attention on Bumblebee, and its demeanour changed almost instantly, somehow managing to give the scout a welcoming glance before it sprung itself across the room, forcing Bumblebee to duck down to avoid the dark maroon underplating hitting him.

By the time he and the humans were able to turn around, his big sister's frame was already in its coils held close.

His weapons were drawn almost instantly, but the creature didn't so much as twitched, instead, just gave the yellow and black mech a toothy grin which went all the way to the hell fire orbs starring directly at him.

"If you truly believe I would hurt the one I have sworn to protect, then shoot." Its tail flicked up, passing directly in front of its own helm, the six bladed plates barely missing the four tusk like fangs which protruded from the front of the creatures snake like helm. "Offline me again. Send me to the Well once more… Send me back to oblivion, and prevent me from keeping my promise to her carrier to always protect her only sparkling."

It didn't take long for Bumblebee to lower his weapon. 'What are, you doing, with her?' He asked as the creature then slithered past him, having to step back to avoid getting caught by the metal creatures wings which were now folded down against the rest of it, he couldn't hide the alarm he felt when he took note of how the creatures girth meant the top plates which ran along the creatures back strut where up to his hipplates if not higher, chassis at most at the end of each ridge.

The creature chuckled. "Oh, you'll see…" It was only then the young mech took into account the creature was in fact a 'he', it had been a bit difficult telling given the lack of any gender based attributes, that he was aware of, the massive and ruffled mass of cables coming from out the back of his helm and down along his body to a degree, and the randomly formed horns which flared out at random intervals, could of hinted at what gender he was.

It was then that the massive creature shifted into a partially upright position, and his plated wings spread back out and moved to block external view, forming a cone shaped tent like structure.

They all stepped back a bit when a glow began forming between the plates, maroon and purple hues dancing against the creatures plating, which upon closer inspection, was littered with toxic green flecks and thicker strike like markings, reminding the mech of crude tribal markings.

Then the creature was moving again, towards the Allspark, and with an ease his bulk did not show, he was able to scale it, hefting himself up onto the top of the cube after only a few grunts, all this whilst having his sisters offline frame draped over his neck and held in place by his still outstretched wings.

That was when he noticed something the humans likely couldn't.

The dim glow coming from his big sisters partially open chassis… they hadn't been open before…

Before he could shout out to the creature, it had placed his big sister offline and grey frame on top of their most sacred relic.

And _struck_ said ancient and sacred relic with the flat sides of his tail plates.

Once again, the cub lit up with energy, this time pulsating upwards.

And a sense of unbidden hope exploded in his chassis, even managing to get a reaction from his sire, and carrier, whom both almost instantly latched onto him, demanding to know what was going on.

He wasn't sure himself, but, when he spotted the familiar purple, gold and white paint regaining its lost colour, the elated whoop of joy from his radio was not to be silenced.

"Whoa! What the fragging son of a Scraplet humping petro hound just happened?!" Novalight shouted as she jerked forwards, banging her helm into Qwezels helm as a result of her movement. "Ow! … what… wait… Qwezel! What the frag just happened?" She exclaimed. "Wait… where are we?" She mumbled, rubbing the front end of her helm as the Predacon tried to rub his sore snout with his wing.

'NOVA!'

She swore she nearly broke her spinal strut she jerked her upper frame round to the all too familiar sound, finding her little brother standing there surrounded by random humans. "The frag Bee?! You didn't have to follow my lead and offline too! And you lot! How can this many of you die at once?! Also, what happened to Limbo?! Why are we suddenly in a cave and not endless nothingness with only a giant winged neon snake Predacon to keep company?!" By this point she was leaning over the side of the Allspark, optics darting all around those on the ground.

Qwezel chuckled, slithering up next to her much smaller form and carefully nudging her away from the edge. "They are not dead My Lady, they are very much alive, as are we… we have been returned to the world of the pulsing Spark, and beating Heart." He declared.

Novalight starred at him for a moment, before looking back to her practically glowing and vibrating little brother, taking closer looks at the humans, and easily recognising her charge, Sam, that team from Qatar, and that afthole agent who seemed to have a flag pole jammed up his ass.

Once it all dawned on her, she let off a highly uncharacteristic squeal of joy and leapt at Qwezel's helm, wrapping her arms around the horns protruding from the mass of cabling behind his helm and pressing her faceplates into the ridges which sat in at the top of his helm, clawed pedes bouncing on the ground as her wings rattled with joy. "We're alive! We're alive! Unicron yah ain't getting my aft yet! YAHOO!"

Qwezel just chuckled, letting off a hissed rumble as he lifted his helm up akin to a King Cobra, flicking his helm slightly to throw Novalight over his horns and sliding down his back, allowing her to catch herself on his wing bases. "Hold on my lady, we are making our decent." He declared, before sliding back down the cube, as a result leaving Novalight hanging off him upside down.

"Oh frag, I can feel all the energon rushing to my helm… I LOVE IT!" She cheered, rolling right off him and onto the floor, and simply just flailing there for a moment. "You feel that big guy?! We can feel stuff more than phantom touches! I whoa!- Ouf! Little brother!" She cheered once she realised who'd just pulled her into a crushing hug, pinning her frame to his.

He was shaking, she realised, his helm tucked into the crook of her neckcables, pressing into her collar. "Oh… Bee…" She mumbled, worming her arms free and wrapping them around him. "I missed you… so, so much… I'm so sorry…" She mumbled, squeezing him as much as she could.

He just let off a rattled vent and tried to hug her even tighter, and reached out to the broken bond.

Novalight didn't even hesitated forging a new bridge between them over the still fresh and hurting divide.

 _"_ _You… idiot…"_

Novalight frowned and flicked him lightly in the forehelm once he pulled his awar. "And how am I an idiot? Exactly?" She tried to joke.

Bumblebee growled. _"We'll discuss it later, right now, the Decepticons are coming, the humans had Megatron frozen solid and now he's free, and coming after the cube."_

Novalight let off a groan and rolled her helm back to look at Qwezel upside down. "How long were we offline? Well, I was offline, because I know you're an old timer beyond even that Alpha Trion guy. But seriously, how long?! Because we've been gone for a long while it feels like… I mean… we have been gone for a long time…" Bumblee and the humans weren't quite sure what she meant by that.

Qwezel huffed. "I'll have you know I am the equivalent of a mid-thirty year old, for your information my lady Nova."

Lennox finally spoke up then. "How about we sort all this out, after we've gotten the Cube out of here?" He declared, gesturing to said giant Cybertronian Relic.

Novalight turned to the man, then to the cube, and jolted. "Wait, that's what that thing was?! Primus that things _huge_!"

There was a beat of silence before her charge spoke up. "You've… never seen it before?"

Novalight shook her helm. "Nope… err Bee? How the frag are we supposed to get that thing out of here? Because I doubt Qwezel here can lift that, as strong as I bet you are big guy, just don't want to risk you getting crushed and all." She offered, finally prying herself from her little brother and moving over to the humans with a few cautious steps. "So… one quick question ok? My last moments, are pretty damn blurry, and I remember pretty much nothing after diverting a bunch of human flying vehicles away from the others… how the frag did I end up Offline?"

Within seconds the entire group was pointing at Simmons.

Novalight pursed her lipplates before huffing out a vent. "Figures, I'll want an apology later, now, Cons, plus humans, plus cube, equals a slag fest bound to happen… so, any ideas how to get a message out? Cause I'm pretty damn certain their blocking all communications right?"

Some of the scientists who were beginning to migrate to the group nodded.

"Well that's Cons for… Bee! What Pit are you… doing?" She exclaimed once she realised her little brother was somehow telling the Cube to collapse in on itself. "Oh Primus, science processor… crashing, that… mass… folding in… density increasing without external pressure… Bee! Stop breaking physics!"

She bolted over to Qwezel and hid behind one of his wings. "It shouldn't be able to do that!" And then she took note of the fact that her little brother was now holding the scaled down version of the Allspark. "Physics… why is it now that you fail me?" Her helm met Qwezel's wing and she let off a muffled curse before pulling away and clapping her servos together before turning to the humans and pointing at the elderly gentleman in the suit. "Ideas on how not to die! …Again! Go!"

There was a brief moment of silence before Keller spoke. "It would appear, there is an old short wave radio in the Alien Archives."

Novalight nodded, turning to Bumblebee then. "Ok then, let's see… Bee, you take our charges, and get the frag out of here via whatever back door this place has, Qwezel, you're with me, I may be able to help with this communication device." She declared, then she turned to the humans. "Guy who killed me, and the rest of you who don't know how to shoot, you're with me. Those who can, go with my little brother? And make sure his engine doesn't back fire again." That last part got her an irritated whack from her little brother.

Before she could respond, the sound of an explosion reached them.

Novalight felt herself go ridged, optics cycling as her helm reflexively turned towards the sound.

At least until Qwezel draped his wing over her back. "My lady, remember what I told you, vent, in… out… in… out… there we go… don't allow the temptation to take over." He rumbled, before turning to the humans and his Lady's younger brother. "You have your orders, move out! Now!" He twisted then, rolling so that he could scoop Novalight up in his coils, depositing her against his wing bases before making a slithering bee-line for the tunnel the humans where already heading down, plating rumbling along the ground akin to a speeding locomotive, the sound roaring in the tight space. "Out of my way!" He roared, giving the humans just enough time to get away before he pushed himself into a corkscrew, slithering along the tunnels surfaces to avoid crushing any humans too slow to get away from his speeding bulk, trying not to wince as the plates of his wings screeched against the surfaces and tore them apart in showers of sparks.

Bumblebee, Sam, Mikeala and the soldiers all watched them disappear.

Finally Bumblebee recovered enough from all that he'd just witnessed to finally respond to his creators, whom had been shouting at him to respond since he'd opened the bonds back up.

 _"_ _It's… big sister… Nova's back… and she brought a friend… a big… very big, friend."_

Neither of his creators seemed to know what to say.

"Alright! Let's get this cube outta here!" Lennox shouted, catching the scouts attention as the soldiers rushed for the armoured vehicles which had been moved into the chamber at some point, following their lead he transformed down into his alt mode and open his doors for his and his sisters charge, making sure the Allspark was safe in his back seats.

"Alright Bee… we just saw death get the middle finger, I think we can handle whatever comes next, right?" Sam mumbled, taking his place behind the wheel and gripping it tight.

'At this, point, I have, no, idea.'

"That's reassuring." His charge muttered as Bumblebee revved his engine and started leading the military vehicles out of the chamber, and the Dam itself.

* * *

Novalight let off a groan as she rolled off Qwezel's side, processor spinning and her tanks, which where only partially full, churned way too much for her liking.

Qwezel shuffled slightly, struggling to turn in the moderately sized indent in the tunnel which held the entrance to the archives. "Apologies My lady Nova, my intention had not been to put your systems in distress." He mumbled, watching as the humans approached, the large rotund one was lagging behind, his foreign friend sticking with him, as somehow the most elderly of the group, Mr Keller, if Qwezle's audios were to be believed, was leading the charge, easily jumping the crags and gashes he'd left in the ground.

"Do you know how much that is going to cost to fix?!" His masters murderer shouted.

Seeing as his master still had her faceplates pressed into the ground, he chose to respond for her, rising up as high as the enclosed space could allow and flaring his armour and wings as far as he could without bringing down the ceiling on all of them. "You think such a trival evil such as wealth and money matter to me? All that I care for is protecting my master, and filling my tanks! Do not tempt me vermin! You executed my master, and there are very thin strands of restraint currently keeping me from swallowing you _whole_ … after _breaking_ you in _two._ " He snarled, only to have Novalight tug on one of his horns which pointed downwards.

"Qwez, behave." She warned, having fully recovered before letting go and transforming into her vehicle mode once she was sure she wouldn't crush anyone, thereafter activating her holoform and jumping out of her cockpit.

She went to speak, only to find them all staring in awe at her vehicle mode. "Err… there some mud on my tail fins or something?" She asked, causing them all the jerk and turn their attention sharply to her.

Glen gulped. "Dude… your guys are way too sci-fi for this not to be a dream." He declared, before pinching his shoulder. "Nope… somehow not dreaming… that's… you're an alien spaceship?!" He exclaimed, gesturing to her altmode.

Novalight just shrugged, before turning to Qwezel. "You got a holoform big boy?"

He shook his helm. "No my lady, my frame is nowhere near as advanced as your own, I shall remain out here and keep guard."

Novalight's holoform just nodded and followed the humans into the archives, taking note of how ancient everything looked within, piles of dust atop piles of folders her scanners told her where easily forty years since their last movement.

And then she spotted what the other humans were crowded around.

"Oh… you have got to be kidding me! If that thing functions, I am never going to trust reality again… you know what? Limbo would make more sense to me if this thing works!"

She chose to ignore the irritated looks all the humans shot her.

* * *

 **Happy? Everyone ok with that? Nova's back, and she's got an overprotective Qwezel to look after her... the Twins are going to have sooooo much 'fun' when they get back to trying to woo her... and a few other fun things his mere presence will likely cause, not sure if I'm rambling or not, oh well, next up, Mission City! And for the record, not killing Jazz, he's too awesome. Well, until next chapter! Toodles!**

 **Moon**


	16. When in doubt, use flammable paint

**Yay for another chapter! Not much to say really, usual disclaimers, Transformers = Hasbro, Nova/Qwez = Mine, let's go! Hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 16

Ironhide's engine sounded more like a rabid predator as he thundered across the tarmac ahead of Optimus.

The Prime, and the other members of his unit had let him pass without question, leaving them behind.

He had to get to his creations, and nothing was stopping him.

That was when he spotted them, the convoy heading towards them.

But he couldn't spot Novalight, she likely had her cloak on, but then, his son had mentioned her being with a large friend, why was the convoy only made of his son and a bunch of military vehicles?

He didn't think long on it, focusing only the harsh turn he made to skid right behind his son.

 _"_ _Sire! It… we… too much has happened and I'm still trying to process it all."_

 _"_ _You said Nova's back, how?!"_

 _"_ _Allspark, and her new friend… Sire… she… he… that creature… he's… oh Primus…"_

 _"_ _Son… where is Nova?"_

 _"_ _Err… back at the damn with this Qwezel mech, he keeps calling her his 'Lady' and acting like she's his master or something, protecting her… they have a connection…"_

Ironhide nearly stalled his engine. _"You mean… she may have found her… her one?"_

 _"_ _Primus I hope not, mech he may be, but he ain't Cybertronian… at all…"_

 _"_ _By that you mean?"_

 _"_ _Trust me, you'll know what I mean when we meet back up with then, he shakes the ground. Like, way more than even Prime does."_

By this point, Optimus, Jazz and Ratchet had caught up, joining to convoy towards Mission City.

* * *

Hoover Damn

"Gah, this is disgusting…." Novalight groaned, holoform hands covered in dust, grime and more spider webs and insect carcasses then she wanted to even count. "Ugh… I think I'm gonna purge my tanks…."

"Just keep looking for those mikes!" Keller shouted over Qwezel's roars, the Predacon trying to catch and kill the Decepticon Frenzy currently scampering all over his frame and shooting at him.

Novalight grumbled something under her breath before her fingers caught something, without even hesitating she yanked on it, ignoring the leathery feel of it.

And as a result, got a half rotten rat's corpse to the face.

"AHHHHHAHHAHHAH"

That hadn't been Novalight.

"Ugh, that is disgusting! Why don't you clean in here!" Novalight snapped at Simmons, tossing the dead animal at him by its tail.

The mans words were completely drowned out by a thunderous bang from outside.

"My lady! The pest has been squashed! Are you in need of my aid with whatever caused the rotund male to squeal?" Qwezel called, helm pushing through the double doors sideways, the remains of Frenzy visible from where he was smeared over the wall.

Novalight felt her tanks churn again from nausea. "No… No… just… keep guard… in case any more of those pricks show up…" Qwezel nodded and pulled his helm back out from the doorway.

Maggie placed a hand on her shoulder, almost jerking back when she felt cool sweat like liquid, she couldn't believe this thing was so accurate. "Hey, yah alrigh?"

Novalight groaned, rolling onto her back and pointing at Glen with her filthy hands. "Only if he's got that 'morse code' scrap going, I refuse to look for damn mikes, who even is Mike?! And why would there be more than one guy called Mike under there?!"

There was a beat of silence before Simmons mumbled something about aliens and them all being freaks, earning a stern look from Keller.

"I Got it! We're broadcasting!" Glen called.

Novalight let off a cheer and deactivated her holoform, transforming back to her bipedal form and crawling as best as she could into the room, knocking the lights hanging above with her wings as she reached out and activated the data transfer tool in her index digit, and jammed it into the side of the computer Glen was using, causing the young adult to jolt as Novalight turned to Keller. "I just widened the signals travelling range, your message, and quick, before the cons get wind of us."

Keller nodded. "This is Secretary of Defence Keller! We need immediate back up, send all your forces, armed with Sabre rounds! We're under attack! Go directly to Mission City, there are friendlies, do not engage until markers have been placed on all the targets which pose an emanate threat to global security!"

Nova pulled out her digit and gave the man a look. "You could of just said, don't shoot the colourful ones along with the black one with the giant cannons, and the little silver one doing the back flips."

"My Lady! We have to go now! We cannot delay our departure from this place any longer… the human here just declared that Megatron has left the damn along with the others." Qwezel called.

Novalight nodded, giving a loose salute to the humans before shuffling back out of the room. "Stay alive you lot! Oh and Simmons, go frag yourself, still pissed you killed me." She called before vaulting up onto Qwezle's back, and grabbing on tight to the Predacon's horns. "This ok? I don't want to leave you behind, so… I thought I could catch a lift?" She enquired.

Qwezel just chuckled and began slithering down the already torn up passageway, accelerating quickly as his armoured underbelly rumbled over the rubble, causing a deafening echo to roar around them through the enclosed space. "My lady, I would be honoured."

It took only a few minutes, and far too many corkscrews than for Novalight's tanks to remain stable, for them to burst from one of the Damn's main exists, sending humans screaming in terror as Qwezel's massive frame burst through with a roar, optics quickly adjusting to the sudden brightness as his wings finally burst fully outstretched, beating heavily a few times and whipping up a dust storm as with a coil of his body, he launched into the air, the massive wings he bore easily putting a third of the damn in his shadow for a moment before he was soaring across the sky, tail end waving and twisting to help with direction as his wings continued their heavy beating.

"Holy frag! This is way better then in Limbo!" Novalight shouted, not daring to let go for risk of falling off.

He certainly couldn't beat her in a race, but the sheer force he was using to keep off the ground was exhilarating. Qwezel just let off a rumbling chuckle. "Why thank you my lady,"

Novalight petted the mass of cables which she'd realised, now that they were back in the land of the living, were actually surprisingly soft, due to the hundreds of thousands of tiny fibres which covered them, without hesitating she rested her helm into them, familiarising herself with the creature who'd kept her sane and happy. "Qwezel… How many times have I told you your amazing?"

Qwezel tilted his helm from side to side, covering her with more cables in the process. "I believe I have lost count… the time we spent in Limbo… well… I believe we have both lost track, although… it would seem that, once the link between the living and limbo was broken, limbo returned to its actual speed… you have been offline here, for a day at the most…"

"Whoa… it was… deca cycles? Orns? Long enough for my attempt to keep track of time failing miserably…"

Qwezel let off a hum from the back of his throat, something she'd taut him. "I have spotted your Prime, he is engaging in conflict against a Decepticon, shall we aid him?"

Novalight pulled her helm out of his plumage of cables and leant over enough to spot her Prime, brawling with a Decepticon with a grabber like appendage on his back strut. "Don't see why not, let's make an entrance Qwezel."

Qwezel nodded, letting off a triumphant roar as he twisted into a dive, wings partially tucking against him to increase their speed without completely dropping out of the sky.

* * *

The sound was what caused the instinctual reaction within Optimus to jump back under the overpasses cover, his helm snapping up just in time to watch Qwezel crash down on top of Bonecrusher, his coils snapping around the massive mechs entire frame, and instantly tightening, causing the Con to try and punch his way out with the only limb he had free.

At least until the massive amount of pressure causing his armour to collapse and crush him into an offline husk after only a few seconds.

Optimus took another step back, holding his arm blade at the ready should the Predacon attack, his other servo shifting into that of a cannon which he aimed directly at Qwezel's helm.

Qwezel quickly took note of this and jerked back, bringing his wings in front of himself to create the same shield like structure as before. "Do not shoot! I have no intention of attacking you!" He called, unfurling from what was left of Bonecrusher and letting the mechs tan painted form crash to the ground in a crumpled heap.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Novalight slid into view. "Heya uncle!"

For lack of a more dignified term, the Prime's jaw dropped. "N-Nova?"

She twirled on one pede. "Ta-da! How's life been? Because death is a bore fest, no offence buddy, you were a great company keeper whilst we were stuck in Limbo." She added after Qwezel snorted at her.

Optimus deactivated his weapons and instead rubbed the sides of his helm. "How… how is this possible? I am glad to see you online… and I believe… oh forget decorum and get over here." He declared, opening his arms wide.

Novalight looked to Qwezel, who gave an encouraging nod, thus resulting in Novalight practically tackling her Prime in a tight, almost crushing hug. "I missed you uncle." She mumbled, pressing her helm into the space just under where his vehicle modes hood covered his chassis.

Optimus let off a chuckle and wrapped his own arms around her. "The feeling is mutual, now… your… friend here…?" He enjquired, looking up to where Qwezel rose above them.

Novalight shook her helm and pulled away, grabbing his servo, and tugged him as hard as she could, which wasn't much, towards Qwezel. "All will be explained later, right now, we got to move, Bee just told me they arrived in the City. C'mon, Qwezel can easily carry both of us! He's a big guy ain't yah!" She cheered up at the Predacon.

Qwezel nodded, and didn't make a single reaction as Optimus awkwardly sat with one pede on either side just behind the mechs wing basses as Novalight clambered back up to hold onto his horns, legs folding under her in a crossed crouch. "I expect a full explanation…" He cut himself off, remembering the ultimatum to take his own life by uniting his own spark with the Allspark.

Somehow, Novalight caught this, and just as Qwezel vaulted from the ground, she looked back to him as he scrambled to hold onto the predacons armoured back strut, her own hold firm and unwavering. "You ok uncle?"

"It is likely the incoming battle my lady, humans will be caught in the crossfire." Qwezel spoke up, spotting the city on the horizon.

Novalight hummed. "Well… we'll just have to be precise about this… or at least try to… I see Megatron!" She shouted, pointing at the speck far ahead of them, there was no way that was a human vehicle.

Optimus called up then. "Novalight, Qwezel, drop me off and return to the air immediately! Aid from above!"

Novalight nodded. "Understood sir, hey Qwezel? Got enough in the tanks?" She enquired, patting the side of the Predacon's neck area.

Qwezel nodded. "Plenty my lady. Although, I should have probably topped off from that con I just crushed… the action has left me with an appetite." He admitted.

Optimus wasn't sure how to react to what he had just overheard, outside of a growing concern. "You…"

"He's a Predacon uncle, they don't ingest energon solely, Qwezel and all Predacons, ate their kills entirely, they have different dietary needs to us in other words." Novalight explained..

Qwezel nodded. "Yes, even non ore materials were part of our diet, but more for the chemicals within that we ourselves do not produce enough of." He tried to elaborate. "We can discuss the rest at a later date, we are about to arrive."

It was only a few moments later that Novalight let off a pained scream, and grasped at her legs. Causing both Optimus and Qwezel to jerk and call to her. "It… it's Bee! … Qwezel, something's wrong!"

All Optimus could do was hold on, as with what sounded akin to an enraged roar, the massive Predacon somehow managed to accelerate, and move into a harsh dive towards the city centre, where smoke could be seen now billowing from between the skyscrapers.

Then, Nova crawled between his horns, crouched on his helm, and then sprung off, a bellow leaving her mixing ominously with the Predacons as her thrusters engaged and Spitter was held in both servos, sights locked on a Con who she spotted rolling down the street in his tank alt mode, firing off round after round.

Qwezel let off another roar, the sound this time causing glass and concrete to crack as his massive frame slammed into the ground at high speed, tearing up the street as he smashed cars and trucks out of the way, halting just long enough to let Optimus off before he coiled as best he could in the enclosed streets, and lunged at the Tank Con trying to shoot his lady out of the sky, accidentally crashing into her sire and sending him to the ground in the process.

"M'lady!" He called, giving her just enough time to get away before he let loose a burst of toxic green chemicals which impacted the tank con in the shoulderplate, causing the gunk to cover a good portion of the mechs upper chassis upon its impact.

Novalight landed a moment later, crouched on top of two of his horns, Spitter poised to fire as they watched closely as the mech began seizing up, letting off a surprised grunting roar before his vocaliser crackled off, his optics going dull as his entire frame locking up in moments.

Then, she fired, watching as the spiked grenade hit square on the mechs chassis, and detonated moments later, causes his chassis to become a cloud of shrapnel which Qwezel quickly blocked them from with his massive wings.

Once all the shrapnel had clattered to the ground, Qwezel dropped his wings and bounced his helm lightly, not even minding when Novalight jumped up and then practically surfed down his arched neck, hoping off and onto the pavement once she reached ground level.

And immediately found her trapped in another crushing hug, this time with her sire. "Gah! Can't vent!" She gasped, banging at his arm. "I'm tapping out! I tap out! Need air flow! Qwez! Help me!" She called reaching for the Predacon who was at present, crushing the tank Con within his coils, just to make sure the mech was well and truly offline, but still had the audacity to smirk at her current predicament.

"I'm not sure My lady, I doubt I would be much help to you in this situation. A sire scorned is not something I wish to engage with."

"Gah! Afthole!"

"Runt. You are grounded." Ironhide huffed, pressing her tight against him. "Once this fight is over, you are grounded for a…"

"Sire, I get it, I've suddenly come back to life from the unknown, but Megatron just touched down and where is Bee!?" She called.

"Here M'lady!" Qwezel called, sliding his helm under what she'd thought had been a pile of rubble, only from him to lift up, dislodging the pile, revealing her little brother laying across his neck, legs cut off at the joints, the rest still stuck under the rubble.

'Hey… sis…'

Novalight felt her optic twitch as she finally managed to pull out of her sires hold. "Bee, who did that to you, tell me now." She snarled. "Also, I told you to keep safe! …At least, I think I did…"

He just weakly pointed to the sky, where a F-22 fighter jet ripped across the sky above.

Novalight was bouncing on her pedes for a moment before she jumped up and grabbed onto Qwezel's side, the Predacon quickly set her little brother down into her stunned sires arms, who was only just getting the first words out when Qwezel sprung into the air, crashing into the side of a building and springing off that and into the air, leaving significant damage to the area of the building he'd impacted, once he was clear, his wings took him high into the air above the skyscrapers.

Once they were above the skyline, Novalight threw herself over his horns, choosing to kneel between his optics, choosing to place Spitter on her hip holster, and instead drawing a semi-automatic she hadn't named yet.

"Hey fragger! You apparently didn't get the memo! No bot, screws up my. Little. BROTHER!" She roared, lining up the sights, and firing an entire cartridge at the Seekers tail end.

The rounds met their mark, ripping up the tail fins and damaging the exhausts of the F-22, who, as a result transformed into a familiar mech, who had gone to yell and potentially fire back at her, until he spotted Qwezel.

Novalight smirked and patted her partners helm. "What's the matter Screamer? Never seen a Predacon before?!" She cheered, firing off another shot with every word, some met their marks, overs the SIC of the Decepticons was able to evade.

Starscream snarled. "This isn't the end of this pest!" He responded, before transforming and shooting away back towards the main area of the city.

Novalight huffed, moving back to her previous spot in Qwezel's cables. "Oh, we're not letting him get away that easy, are we buddy?" She chuckled.

Qwezel snorted. "Why my lady, whatever gave you the idea I didn't have every intention to pursue?" He responded, spreading his wings wide and bringing them down to propel them through the air after the seeker. "Though, I am not up to par with our folly, you may have to make chase alone." He admitted, trying to keep up with the seeker, only for his own top speed to not come to par with their target.

Novalight nodded and patted the side of his helm. "Say no more big guy, you go help the others on the ground, ok? I'll keep the air clear." With that she threw herself off the side of her partner and transformed, shooting past him and after their target as Qwezel dived down, letting off another bellow as he came in for another landing which left his landing strip even more torn up then before.

Rearing up, he took stock of the area, the Autobot Medic was giving him a confused look, his lady's sire was by the medics side and giving cover for the humans, who were trying to get his lady's younger brother strapped to the back of a tow truck.

"Need some assistance?" He enquired, taking note then of the Helicopter he recognised as his lady's previous adversary, Blackout.

All three nodded, and he returned the gesture, shifting so that he could slide between Ironhide and Bumblebee.

Ironhide then halted for a moment. "Wait, where's my daughter?" He called up.

Qwezel sent the mech a look and gestured with his snout to the sky to where the two seekers were locked in a dog fight above the city. "Burning through her ammunition of course. Hopefully she remembers the venting technique." He mumbled the last part.

They went to respond, when Jazz suddenly rushed up to them. "Megatron and Prime are beating tha scrap outta each otha, and yah all jus' standin' around? Move it!" He shouted, all whilst doing his best to shoot backwards at where Blackout was coming towards them.

Qwezel slid up next to Jazz and let off a deafening roar towards the helicopter con, recognising the pain in his ladies side. "Move, defend your Prime! I'll handle this one!" He called, cutting them off from view by shifting his mass to take up most of the street and path, his wings spreading out as far as they could, effectively creating a barrier out of his own giant frame, smashing the skyscrapers adjacent in the process, maw snapping wide to reveal the hundreds of serrated fangs which lined the inside, and the pooling mass of paralytic chemicals building at the back of his throat.

The mech transformed and charged, raising a fist to strike him, but Qwezel, despite his size, snapped forwards like a snapped cable, diving under the fist and instead coiling round in a single moment to latch his fangs down onto the mechs bulky shoulder, and with his instincts of killing primed and roaring within him, his entire mass collided with the mech, stunning him momentarily as the chemicals in his maw seeped into the gaps in the armour, he was quick to encase the mechs rotors as much as he could, grunting when the mechs suddenly began spinning, just before his tail had gone to wrap around them and crush them, with a snarl he released the now unresponsive shoulder, and instead, bit down on the mechs helm, locking his jaws before thrashing a few times from side to side as the plates of his tail snapped back before hurtling down on the rotor support, slicing through them, the mechs pained cry quickly ended when his neckcables gave and ripped apart, allowing Qwezel to rip the mechs helm from his shoulders, tossing his own helm up to easily swallow the piece before grunting again when he and the now offline mech crashed to the ground due to the lack of hydraulic support.

With a huff Qwezel unfurled himself and shook himself to get all the pieces of rubble and shrapnel from his frame before turning to see where the Autobots had gone.

Only to find them all still standing there, along with a good number of human civilians and soliders, all starring at him.

The expressions where a mixed batch, but Qwezel just rolled his optics and snorted. "I said move it! Non combative humans! Flee to the West, there is less conflict in that direction, stay low, out of sight, and don't for the love of the ancestors, don't try and be a hero, there's already enough casualties this day!" He shouted, before turning when he heard the sound of more physical fight coming towards them, pivoting he spotted the Prime locked in a duel with Megatron, both trying to get to the human teen, Sam, who'd at some point previously ran off with the Allspark.

Jazz was suddenly sprinting past him. "You mechs get Sam and the humans to safety! I'll try and help Prime!" He shouted back.

Qwezel didn't hide the affronted look on his features before he launched after the far smaller mech. "I will join you." He called, diving and taking the mech out in such a way he ended up on his back.

"Whoa! Thanks for tha lift!" Jazz exclaimed once he got his bearings, just before being thrown off them again when Qwezel lunged again, tackling Megatron to the ground just before he'd brought his blade down on Optimus' helm, his hulking mass sending the three of them flying and leaving Optimus laying there trying to figure out what had just happened.

The Predacon and two Autobots where quick to recover and attack the Warlord.

* * *

Novalight snarled as she swerved around the spire of one skyscraper, wing clipping the very tip of the spire, slicing through it as she continued the chase after Starscream, firing off round after round, she couldn't safely go any faster, otherwise she'd fly right into her own projectiles, and trying to dodge the missiles the SIC was sending her way only added to the things she had to dodge as they weaved, dipped and spun between the gaps of the skyscrapers, diving down towards the roads at times in the SIC's attempts to throw Novalight off.

That was when she spotted the human air force, Starscream having apparently also spotted them, if the sudden hard right he took towards them meant anything, his focus now on the incoming humans.

She'd stopped firing, and with no more potential projectiles to concern herself with, she pushed herself into a harsh acceleration, her 'x' formation wings rudders and ailerons snapping hard into position that sent her into a corkscrew which allowed her to shoot right past Starscream, it would be a cold day in the pits before she allowed such a cowardly freak to beat in her in a race.

She pulled a hard left to arch around, grunting when the forces began pressing down on her exterior before she levelled out and pulled up next to the lead flyer, dimming the tint on her cockpit and activating her holoform to give them the signal for 'friendly'. The leader nodded, and then was forced to swerve when Starscream transformed mid air and shot up just in front of his left side and tried to take a swipe at the Jet's wing.

Novalight reacted accordingly, barrel rolling over the lead flyer, and slammed her hull against Starscream, the impact leaving a large dent in her underside and sending him careening downwards for a few moments as Novalight tried to regain herself before transforming and trying to ignore the dent in her abdomen as she activated her thrusters and began shooting with dual blasters, trying to drive Starscream back long enough for the human jets to get in position to help, even if it was quite the chore trying to keep up with said F-22's whilst trying to shoot a certain persistent fragger out of the sky.

"Why can't you just bloody damn well let me shoot that ugly face of yours off?! Loosing that hideous mug of yours would be a blessing upon the universe!" She roared over her own blaster fire, pelting the larger seeker mech as he shot closer, he went to tackle her when she cut one thruster, sending her into an airborne cartwheel which left Starscream with nothing to impact but the concrete and glass of a skyscraper they were flying past as the Jet's shot above, staying above the skyscrapers as the two of them continued to dual between the towering buildings.

Whilst Starscream was recovering, Novalight turned her attention quickly to the city's streets, spotting her little brother getting hauled around on the back of a tow truck, happily firing like a mad mech, the sight making her feel a flurry of pride within her as she then spotted something a good deal less welcoming, Qwezel trying to wrestle Jazz from Megatron's clutches atop a skyscraper, his massive form twisting around the spire oddly resembling a massive hummingbird as his tail lashed forwards and tried to knock the warlord off his perch, whilst also trying to avoid harming her shortest uncle.

She was half a moment from racing to help when Starscream tackled her, slamming a fist harshly into her side as she thrashed and kicked as hard as she could as they went careening towards ground level.

By some miracle, physics was, for once, on her side, Starscream's greater weight resulting in him hitting the ground first, the impact force resulting in Novalight being flung off him by a good distance to instead go flying across the torn up tarmac, bouncing and skidding a few times before crashing into an upturned bus, leaving her to slump down with a groan, helm spinning and a good portion of her frame feeling like it had just gone through a tumbler.

With a groan she pushed herself up, wincing when a sudden pain shot up her back, reaching around she realised one of her two lower wings, had a large tear in it from the impact.

"Son of a glitch!" She hissed through clenched denta, dented was one thing she could fly with, a tear would be impossible.

Didn't mean she wasn't going to fight.

That seemed to be the same ideology for Starscream as the mech was already charging towards her, weapons drawn.

Her own instincts had her drawing Spitter, and not a moment later a grenade was flying towards him.

The two practically froze in place however, when instead of a fiery inferno, the large seeker was instead drenched helm to pede in baby pink and blue.

Dumbfounded Novalight turned her helm down to the functions, feeling her faceplates flush slightly with energon at the discovery the impact had knocked Spitter into his paint grenade function.

But the shock quickly wore off for both of them, Starscream letting off an enraged roar at his sudden change of colouration on his front half and Novalight was quick to turn Spitter to his flamethrower function, and fired.

What happened next, was quite the surprise, the wet paint ignited, flaring up into a raging blaze around the seeker mech who was once again thrown off his charge, and instead fell to the ground screaming as the fire torched his entire front side, searing every spot the paint touched, which was pretty much everything.

Novalight had no intention of waiting around to see what happened to the mech next, scrambling to her clawed pedes, tripping at one point due to how her torn wing jerked, she bolted towards the direction of the main fight, hoping to find safety in numbers on the ground.

By the time she turned the corner however, it was clear to her that it was only Megatron left fighting, well, more like knocking everyone else away in his attempts to chase Sam along the top of a building as Optimus tried to keep pace and save the teen.

Qwezel crashed down next to her a moment later, a dazed, confused and dinged up Jazz only just still perched on the Predacons back.

"Hey Jazz, you look like scrap." Novalight tried to joke, knowing that, with her ammo, which she'd just checked, low, and her frame stinging more than she'd care to admit, she wasn't much help in this fight anymore.

Jazz tried to swat her, but in the process tumbled off Qwezel's side, letting off a surprised cry as Novalight only just managed to catch him and prevent a complete face plant.

Not that the sudden shift didn't send the two to the ground anyway.

"Ughhh…" They both groaned, neither feeling like getting up at this point.

"My lady? Are you alright? … By my fore sires! You're injured!" She heard Qwezel exclaim only moments before his wings were used to scoop her off of Jazz and into his coils, which he kept lax around her as he then pulled Jazz up into his coils to join her, before forming a shield out of his wings to guard them from the fight up ahead, the lowest plates being jammed into the ground for a firm hold.

"Just a torn wing… and the rest's from getting thrown across the ground like a skipping stone." She admitted, just happy to be back with her partner.

"That vile seeker?" Qwezel enquired.

Novalight just nodded.

"Did you manage to end him?"

Novaligth shrugged. "Set his ugly mug on fire, who knew my paint grenades could be used as an ignition fuel… I am so making use of that trick from now on." She mumbled.

Qwezel had no more questions to ask after that, lifting his helm clear of his wings to watch the fight as he continued to guard Novalight and Jazz, it continued for only a few minutes before the jets began their assault on Megatron, raining a barrage of rockets down on the mech, forcing him down the street towards them, he continued after Sam though, stumbling to the ground when Optimus, who'd been knocked to the ground at some point, reached out and tripped the mech, rolling onto his front and moving to go after Sam as well.

"Sam! Put the cube in my chest! Now!" He ordered, trying to get to Sam as quickly as possible.

Novalight and Jazz jolted at the implication, but the flat sides of Qwezel's tail held them down.

"Don't move." Qwezel warned, sliding back as carefully as he could over the torn up street as the two mechs and human drew closer.

It ended not a minute later, the Allspark breaking apart and fusing with Megatron's spark in a beam of light which shot skywards, ending the Tyrant's life.

Once the Warlord's frame went still, and optics faded out, Qwezel set the two down, who used him as a brace as they moved to meet up with the rest of them, as Optimus managed to stand, pulling a charred piece, the only piece, of the Allspark left from the molten spark casing. "You left us no choice, brother." He mumbled, crushing the piece of ancient relic in his grasp.

Novalight chose to speak up. "Well then… that was worth giving death the middle digit!" She cheered, before almost toppling over, had she not caught herself on Qwezel. "Oh I'm gonna be sore in the morning." She huffed, letting her legs give out below her. "I am knackered." She groaned.

Ratchet was quick to go to her and Jazz's side, hoisting both of them up on a shoulder, whilst trying to ignore the growl from Qwezel as he led them over to where Bumblebee still sat on the 'borrowed' tow truck.

Ironhide moved to Novalight's side and heft her up himself to help the CMO. "Looks like you grounded yourself runt." He declared, giving her a slightly tight squeeze until she gave a sharp hiss at the spots he'd aggravated.

Qwezel watched his lady get set down to be looked over before turning to Optimus. "I believe I have already shown my allegiance here, I wish to join you Autobots, to defend my lady." He declared.

Novalight piped up then. "The moment I can, I'm etching your fragging designation into me! Stop calling me your lady!"

Qwezel just let off a rumbling chuckle before turning back to the confused Prime. "We'll explain later. What do you believe is our next course of action? I can carry the injured where ever you chose."

Optimus wasn't sure how to answer the large Predacon, who easily towered over him. Thankfully, Lennox, who'd been helping on the ground with his unit, spoke up. "Back to the dam I guess, it's the closest place big enough for all of you." He answered.

Optimus nodded in thanks, and gave Qwezel the same gesture, watching on as the large snake like Predacon slithered over to Bumblebee, Novalight and Jazz, helping Ratchet and Ironhide heft all three up onto his back before taking off after a quick impact with the side of another sky scraper.

Lennox winced when panes of glass came raining down onto the city street. "Oh boy… he's gonna be fun to explain." He declared before turning to take in the carnage. "And everything else…"

Optimus gave a quick nod, transforming down and calling Sam and Mikeala to get into his cab, which the two roughed up teens did, sticking close to each other as he, Iornhide, Ratchet and the remaining soldiers rolled out towards the dam.

The majority of their thoughts being either having some much needed recharge, or how it was possible for a giant Predacon and Novalight to have come back from the dead and somehow developed their odd relationship.

* * *

 **Oh they don't know the half of it, oh well, they'll find out eventually, again not much to say, hoped you enjoyed this one, until next I post! See yah!**

 **Moon**


	17. Jet lag of a different kind

**Two days, it took me two days to write chapter 18, and I loved every moment of it, welp, hope you all enjoy the chapter I got for you here! My fingers hurt... normal disclaimers have been stated enough, and now, on with the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 17

"Ow."

"Oh shush you, the wrench barely left a dent." Ratchet huffed as he carefully welded the tear in Novalight's wing back together, they didn't have any way of replacing the wing, seeing as the resources they were allowed at the moment, where whatever Qwezel could pull out of the walls, seeing as the large Predacon was set on both driving the humans nuts, and getting enough resources such as metal plates, rebar, and electrical wires and cabling from the walls of the Dam base as possible, using his maw like a crude drill tip by rotating his body in the confined spaces of the tunnels, the sound of which, could be heard throughout the damn.

Novalight just huffed, fidgeting relentlessly, she didn't like this, didn't like being away from her partner, being apart was something she felt she just couldn't handle, not after Qwezel was the only one in that endless void with her.

The sound of his attempts of drilling were the only thing keeping her in place, the sounds keeping her calm.

It was only now that they'd returned to the land of the living that Novalight realised how desperate she'd become for his presence and comfort.

"Ratchet… Can… could you… tell me about Seeker Trines?" Novalight finally got out.

Ratchet looked up at her from where he was trying to pull a dent out of her side. "Why the sudden interest? You've never batted an optic shutter at it before." He reminded her.

Novalight didn't feel like giving him a snappy response. "The time me and Qwezel spent together… I know you said its only been a day here… but.. there's no way… it… we… I know I was in limbo a lot longer with Qwezel… time moved differently there… I lost track of how long we'd been there, just the two of us… after nine deca cycles…" She admitted, struggling to get her point across after the sounds Qwezel had been making cut off, hopefully he'd found some more stuff.

And was coming back, pronto.

"Hmm, I'm not going to claim any understanding of how time works, but the theories of Limbo are the constant recycling of the same time line, and 'time' as a concept is…"

"Ratchet, I want to know if my Seeker coding thinks I'm developing a Trine with Qwezel or not, and if him being a Predacon is an irrelevant factor or not." She snapped, Physics and her where not on good terms at present, and she was in no mood to discuss theories on the function of time.

Ratchet stared blankly at her for a moment before shaking himself back to reality. "I'll have to run some scans, but that can happen at a later date, you're all fixed up, now don't exert yourself too much and you should be fine." He stepped back, preparing to duck as she shot away, but she didn't, to his shock and confusion she just pushed off the end of the berth she'd been sitting on, and _walked_ out of the door.

The door had long since closed before Ratchet recovered enough to even rub his optics in disbelief.

Novalight was quick to locate her large friend, he was heading towards medbay, a mass of different 'claimed' pieces of junk in his maw with a group of panting human technicians running after him trying to get him to drop said junk, which he did upon spotting Novalight, slithering over the mass and partially flattening the dented pieces as he lowered his helm down for her to clamber up onto and cling to. "My Lady?" He called, hell fire optics trying to look at her and failing miserably due to where they were in his helm.

"I hate it when you're not with me…" She mumbled into the mass of dark grey, red and green tinted cables.

Qwezel just let off a low croon, remembering vividly why she was like this, now that the heat of the battle was over, it had scarred both of them terribly, he would admit, he hadn't expected his decision to 'acquire' resources from the humans, to have him so distracted by his concern for his lady, having her so close, was all that now calmed him as he continued on his way down the tunnel, moving at a leisurely pace towards the main chamber which had once held the Allspark which had given the both of them life again, now the temporary place of holding for himself and the Autobots.

Optimus and Ironhide were the only two of said group present, trying to have a decent conversation with a group of human officials, including Keller, Simmons and Banacheck.

The rumbling sound of Qwezel's approach had ended the conversation as he pulled himself fully from the tight fit of the tunnel. "Apologise, continue as you were, I and Nova were just going to rest for a while. "He declared, having felt his lady begin dropping off against his cabling behind his horns.

Optimus and Ironhide both nodded, but the humans were a bit more vocal, namely Simmons.

"Hey!? You gonna pay for all that stuff you gutted from us?!" The man shouted, much to the irritation of those around him.

Keller was quick to reprimand him. "Simmons, as of now, you're very job is hanging from a very narrow precipice, I advise you stop trying to insult them, they are merely doing what they can, the equipment is still on its way and if Mr… Ironhide here is anything to go by, that scavenging potentially saved his sons life. Or had you not noticed the fact _his_ _legs_ had been _blown_ _off_ whilst trying to protect _our_ _troops_ on ground level?" He hissed out.

Simmons was quick to back down, and with the previous conversation resuming, Qwezel moved to the far corner of the chamber and went to curl up against a large grate, which had a warm breeze coming in from the outside, as the air conditioning controls had been damaged during Megatron's exit of the damn.

For a while they were left un-disturbed, Novalight finding a way to get herself curled up under the mass of cabling and up against the thick bases of his horns, and Qwezel had in response curled around himself, creating a thick ring around his helm and upper neck, wings tucked to his sides as the two recharged, completely content with the warm air flowing over them.

* * *

It was around an hour later that Ratchet entered the chamber. "Alright, Jazz is in stasis to recover from mild processor trauma after his impact with the side of a building, during Megatron and Qwezel's tug of war match. Bumblebee is resting and allowing his systems to recalibrate to his pedes, which is going to take a while with all the crude metal replacements I've had to use around his joints, and Nova should be up and looking for that Predacon of hers." He glanced over and spotted the curled up mass of Predacon. "Never-mind."

It took a while for him to bring up his observations and what Novalight had said, which quickly drew the attention of all conscious current inhabitants of the chamber.

"A Trine?! With a Predacon?! Ratchet, there's only two of them, Trines need three to form." Ironhide responded once he'd processed everything.

"And you believe that Novalight spent an unknown, yet lengthy period of time in limbo before her and Qwezel's resurrection?" Optimus finished.

Ratchet nodded, pacing in front of them. "It doesn't make sense, I'll admit, but when has anything made any sense with that creation of yours Ironhide. What I'm trying to say here, is there's a connection between those two, to the degree that being apart is difficult, they actively seek each other's presence, hinting that they spent more than a few deca cycles together."

Ironhide went to sit on a large container, which barely held his weight. "Like when I first brought the runt to base after I found her and she clung to me like a vice?"

Ratchet nodded. "Exactly, her long dormant codding likely flared up with her return to the living, a massive change, and something I believe has also caused a type of, 'jet lag' for them, they are no longer accustomed to being alive and having an environment and other sentient beings around them." He tried to explain.

Optimus spoke up again. "Then the best course of action is to allow them to slowly re-adjust, let them become used to interacting with us once again outside of the heat of battle, I, like all of us, are thrilled over Nova's return to our ranks, as well as the gaining of such an ally as Qwezel, but, small steps must be taken. Now, the next topic to discuss?" He turned back to the humans then, gesturing for them to continue.

"Right, yes." A woman spoke, pushing her glasses back up to her eyes. "The next topic would be what to do with the deceased Decepticons."

A rumbling was heard as Qwezel hefted himself up, albeit dazedly. "I would offer to feast on them, but I understand that you have an odd tradition of 'laying them to rest', I'm fine either way, just thought I'd remind you of my diet… speaking of which… the battle left my tanks dangerously low, and the energon you have offered as all gone to my lady, I require a more metallic diet, the vehicles wrecked during the battle, they will be an appropriate replacement for my ancient prey." With that he lowered himself back down into his coils and returned to recharge.

They all turned back to each other, Keller spoke then. "We could bury the bodies, but I doubt the government as a whole would be willing to fund such a dig, an offshore burial would be more suitable."

The woman who spoke up previously dotted down something on her clipboard. "Noted. We can also arrange for the beyond repair cars to be shipped here for the… Predacon? The owners have already been promised replacements as is. Despite the costs already being counted from the damage to the city."

"Which again we apologise for, and I do regret the fact that we were unable to successfully evacuate the city before our clash with the Decepticons began." Optimus responded.

The conversation continued on as such, rolling over topic after topic, setting out brief plans for the next step.

Hopefully all would be set as right as possible soon.

* * *

Three weeks later.

Novalight grumbled from her spot leaning against Qwezel, trying to avoid looking over at where Mikeala and Sam where enjoying each other on the roof of her little brother's alt mode, which he wasn't the most chuffed about either.

 _"_ _Wanna prank them?"_ Bumblebee called over their bond.

Novaligth felt her frame jolt slightly, but quickly composed herself, getting used to her reformed bonds was taking longer then she felt ok with. She was quick to mask it. _"Thought you'd never ask, Ratchet did say Qwezel's paralytic whatever it is doesn't hurt humans~"_ She offered, nudging her partners side, his own designation had been etched into the side of her collar, much to Qwezel's partial irritation and partial happiness, he no longer called her 'his lady' but that didn't stop him from gaining a highly possessive streak when in regards to her, not that there wasn't one there to begin with.

The notion of forming a Trine was something they had discussed, but they'd both decided a title meant about as much to them as Frenzy's splattered remains outside the Alien Archives at the dam.

No one had been bothered to do anything with him, he was effectively a piece of sheet metal surrounded by a large spider web crack which had formed when Qwezel had squashed him, and it was going to have to be fixed soon enough, along with everything else Qwezel had destroyed within the dam.

With a gesture towards and an expression of upchucking something, Qwezel understood his partners plan, a toothy grin forming as Bumblebee began rattling his alt mode until the two humans jumped off, terrified of the prospect of getting caught in the gears as he transformed up, the yellow and black mech doing his best to smirk as the two humans where covered in the shadow of the Predacon rearing high above them.

The two had barely enough time to let off squawks before the toxic green gunk was crashing down over them.

"UUUUUGHHHHGHHEEEEWWW!" Was the dual responsive of the two as they found them coated in the slime like substance.

Novalight couldn't hold in the outright howl which left her as she rolled onto her side and pounded the dry earth beneath her with a fist. "HA! Classic!"

The trio chuckled for a few more moments as the two humans tried to wipe to green slime off them.

Once Novalight had recovered from her laughter she shifted into her alt mode and activated her holoform, going to help wipe the gunk off them.

Sam was quick to bat her away and grab a duffel bag which had been thrown out of Bumblebee's trunk mid transformation, pulling out two towels and handing one to Mikeala.

"This is getting old you guys. Like, really old." Sam grumbled.

Novalight shrugged along with Qwezel and Bumblebee. 'Then don't, get frisky, on my, hood.' Bumblebee responded as Novalight shifted back into her bipedal form and went to settle back against Qwezel, who was more than happy draping his wing over her side, partially engulfing her.

Ironhide then walked up to the duo. "Hey runt." He spoke, moving to sit against Qwezel's side, letting off a slightly surprised grunt when the Predacon's wing moved to cover the lower half og him as well. "I take it you're feeling better?" He enquired, pulling her into his side with one arm, which she quickly snuggled up against.

"Yeah… we're feeling a lot better now…. Optimus done with his message?" She enquired, glancing over at her uncle, who was standing proud at the edge of the cliff, looking out across the land ahead of them.

Her sire nodded. "Yup, although you'll probably be seeing those twins of yours first." He chuckled. "And your carrier." He added, an expression forming on his features that could be no other emotion than completely smitten.

Novalight raised an optic ridge at him. "But, Sire, they went in the complete opposite direction to us." She pointed out, remembering that fact bitterly.

Ironhide just responded with a chuckle. "That was before you're carrier kicked Prowl off the Captain's seat the moment she found out about your demise."

"Oooh… I take it she's going full rage mode?"

"She calmed down when Bumblebee alerted us to your sudden resurrection." At that he patted Qwezel's side, sending the Predacon a thankful look, who just let off a low croon and shifted to curl around the two of them.

"Naww, you're just a giant sap." Novalight joked as Qwezel brought his helm round for her to run her servodown the side of the rough surface, causing an oddly cat like purr to leave him, causing her to smile even brighter. "And a clown." She joked.

She then turned her attention back to her sire. "I wonder if the twins are even still gonna bother with me… we've been apart so long, and Sides mentioned a fem they met who's a lot more vocal then I am about my feelings for them."

That certainly perked Ironhide's attention. "Nova? Are you implying?"

A faint smile formed on her features. "Yeah… I think I'm beginning to have feelings for both of them…"

Ironhide had to catch himself on Qwezel's side to prevent his self from falling over in shock. "And when did this revelation come?!"

Novalight just let off a giggled and continued to pet Qwezel's helm. "Being stuck in Limbo gave me a lot of time to think… and despite external appearances, Qwezel is a surprisingly well experienced love guru." She joked, snickering at her partners affronted look.

"I am no expert Nova, I just had a lot of experience with females back when I was younger." Was his response as he tucked his helm under his own wing so he could rest it on her crossed legs.

Novalight snorted in disbelief. "Riiiigggghhhhttt, admit it, you had every fem Pred falling for you after a single glance! You, were, a, bad, mech!" She cheered.

Qwezel huffed and nudged her middle with his snout. "In the past, I've matured since then, all I did was open your optics over time. Besides, I told you I settled down with a mate."

Novalight hummed under her vent, continuing to pet his helm as his own hell fire optics starred back at her. "But yeah… he's helped me get a hold of my views on life you could say. Helped me realise where I needed to change my view, and I guess one thing lead to another, and now I'm willing to give it a shot with those two, if they haven't found their real sparkmate." She admitted, wrapping her arms a bit tighter around her partners helms he continued to nudge her with his snout, being careful not to harm her with his tusk like fangs.

Ironhide squeezed her against his side. "Proud of yah… not sure how to word it, but hearing you say that, makes me even more glad I found you in that rubble, your turning into a fine young fem." He then shifted, pulling her helm into a helm lock and rubbing his fist lightly against her helm, much to her irritation. "And what the frag is all this about this 'real sparkmate'?!" He let her go and instead took her by the shoulder plates. "Don't doubt yourself runt, from what I saw back on the homeworld, that red idiot was pedes over helm for you, and we all now Sunstreaker was warming to yah."

Novalight huffed and pushed away from his hold, but still rested against him. "We'll see when Carrier arrives with them."

They lulled into silence for a bit before Qwezel nudged her again to get her attention, Ironhide watched with a palpable curiosity as they seemed to have an entire conversation with their optics alone before Novalight let off an irritated sigh. "Fine, you win, I'll tell him… Sire… when we first met, Qwezel told me he'd met my carrier for a brief time before leaving the Well… and he thinks, from his long time in the Well, longer than any of our species… my sire wasn't there… my biological sire may still be online… and he's out there somewhere… He survived the collapse of my home…" She revealed, holding Qwezel's helm tight to her for comfort.

Ironhide was stunned into silence for a few moments, processor reeling from the reveal, as was Chromia, who'd been listening closely over the bond.

"Oh… well…" He looked off ahead of them trying to comprehend what that would mean for their family. "Do… if you do find him… what would you want to do?"

Novalight let loose a wry smile. "Well, first I'd demand to know why he cut off the bond like he did… making me think he was offline this whole time… might rough him up a bit… then return back to my real family… the ones who've protected, nurtured, trained and loved me for the entirety of my living memory… seeing as I can't remember anything of my time before the collapse… not even their faceplates…" She responded back, and was not a moment later crushed up against her sire as he held her close.

"There ain't no fragging way I'm letting some sparkling abandoner near yah, your too precious to us to ever lose." He managed to get out.

Those around the three watched on, each carrying a sense of rare joy at what they were seeing before them.

Then, Bumblebee jumped on top of both of them, trying to get in on the hug,

"Bumblebee! Watch your joints!" Ratchet exclaimed, but didn't bother saying anything else as the young yellow and black mech was pulled into the hug and in turn covered by Qwezel's wing.

The only thing the scene needed now was for Chromia to suddenly appear out of nowhere and join, they were going to have to wait a while for it, but it was going to be something none of them wanted to miss.

"So… anyone want to go get something to eat? I'm starving." Sam suddenly called up.

Mikeala was quick to elbow her boyfriend in the gut.

"Hey! It was a genuine question!"

"Just shut up, and let them have their moment Sam!"

* * *

Two months later

"Touch down!" Novalight cheered, watching as the first of two C17's finally set down on the airstrip of their new home.

Qwezel was perched upright beside her, the two of them having arrived a few hours prior seeing as he couldn't fit on the humans air craft without punching a bunch of holes through the fuselage with his horns, or even fit without tying himself in knots for that matter.

The base was already moderately operational, but had yet to be outfitted with anything other than a central command, and a hanger cleared out for the creation of individual quarters.

The two had, since arrival, had a long drawn out discussion over where they were going to recharge, Qwezel had offered to recharge either outside, as he had in his old life, or in one of the already used airplane hangars, whilst she should get a room for herself in the Autobot quarters.

Novalight had quickly argued back that she'd sleep in the Airplane hangar with him, or even under the night sky on the sand itself if needs be.

Neither of them where comfortable with long periods apart yet, they'd been trying to create a greater degree of flex, but each and every time their sparks and processors demanded their return to each other's sides.

Neither of them wanted to talk about what had and almost happened in Limbo, it was something which terrified them both, albeit irrational, it was that fear which was causing recharge less nights whenever they tried to recharge apart.

In the end, they'd decided they'd just ask to recharge in the plane hangar.

It was sheltered, and had enough room for both of them if they evicted one of the fighter jets for the both of them to curl up on.

They'd already alerted the humans to their preference, and as a result, they were arranging for the back of the hangar, which luckily had a large hangar door on both ends, to be cleared out for the two, and the jet which rested there at present to be moved into one of the smaller hangars.

But at present, the main thing on both of their processors was handing over guard of the island, which effectively meant they had to stay at the base to keep watch for any potential threats, once that position was handed over, they were fully intending on going on a nice long flight around the island and out across the open Indian Ocean, staying high above the clouds to avoid any fishing boats from spotting them of course.

Once the back of the C17 was open, they watched on as Optimus, Ironhide and Jazz rolled out, transforming soon after in an attempt to loosen up their half in stasis limbs.

"Heyo! Welcome to our new home! And now that you're here, bye!" Novalight shouted from across the beach, before jumping up onto Qwezel's lowered helm and letting off a whoop of joy as the Predacon launched off the ground.

The three mechs just watched on before turning to each other. "Anybot know what she said?" Jazz enquired.

Optimus and Ironhide shook their helms, turning to head towards the base as the soldiers who had accompanied them, including Lennox, Epps, and the rest of their team, came down the ramp.

Up above the clouds, Novalight and Qwezel where more than relishing in the unbidden freedom that they felt as Qwezel moved into another corkscrew, his long body twisting into a wide helix before shooting up, breaching the highest cloud they could see between their wide horizons.

Then, he dived, wings folding tight against his frame as his form began twisting and turning in their high speed decent, Novalight holding on for dear life as she let off cry after cry of joy as they plummeted, before letting go, her smaller form shooting in front of him until reaching her own terminal velocity, once she wasn't going any faster, she rolled and moved into a spiral around her partners trajectory, just letting the air rush past her.

They shot through a large cloud together, Novalight spreading out to slow down enough to catch onto Qwezel's helm and throw herself back onto her preferred perch behind his horns gripping tight to the oddly shaped protrusions as they continued to rocket downwards, whooping and bellowing together before Qwezel's wings shot apart, catching the air and slowing them dramatically.

They were about to break the lowest level of clouds when Qwezel began flapping his massive wings again, keeping them out of sight of any unsuspecting humans.

"What a rush." Novalight purred out, rolling onto her back, being mindful of her wings so as not to cause any damage before allowing her frame to sink into the mass of cables surrounding her as Qwezel continued towards the horizon.

A low rumble was his response, his hell fire optics glancing back despite her being out of his line of sight. "It's relaxing…"

Novalight hummed back. "Remember that time when we ran out of things to say? And I just started humming, and you wanted to learn how to do it… and then we just ended up humming at each other until we both cracked with laughter at how stupid we looked just going 'hmmm' at each other?" She chuckled, petting the soft cables around her.

Qwezel purred. "How could I not? It was the first time I heard that musical laugh you used to keep to yourself… I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to share it with me." He responded, twisting sharply into a coil before levelling out. "You didn't even grab hold?"

"Nope, because I knew, you'd never let me fall far, and you'd never drop me on purpose." She responded, starring up at the stars beginning to glimmer into view on the opposite horizon to the setting sun.

"Listen to us, if anyone else heard us they'd think we were mated or some scrap." Qwezel joked.

Novalight snorted. "Oh you and I both know this is a platonic soulmate thing."

"That it is, glad I snagged you Nove."

"Glad you caught me… Qwez."

They fell into a comfortable silence, Qwezel turning around every so often to fly back towards the base, flying past it, and repeating the process in a blissful silence, broken only by the comforting sound of Qwezel's wing plates rattling against one another with each beat.

Novalight finally broke the silence after the sun and its rays had disappeared from the horizon.

"Hey Quez… tell me about your mate again?"

"The one you so fondly call Juriji?"

"Yeah… that one… not the rest… I like her… tell me about her again?"

"I'd be happy to… although I do miss her…"

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

"No, no, it helps me remember her… she was a stunning creature, her skills unmatched in battle… at least, until I came slithering into her 'neck of the woods' as the humans would call it… she wasn't best pleased at first… but when I had her wrapped in my coils, optics staring into each other's… the spark was unmissable… she still smacked me across the face with a broken crystal though, hurt like a glitch for a few days but she was there to help me get my jaw moderately back together… recovery took a while, and by then, well, we didn't exactly beat around the bush." He chuckled, shifting from, side to side at Novalight's 'ewww'.

Qwezel continued regardless. "We had nine hatchlings, all of which took after their carrier, but they did have my colours, it was a good life… but we didn't have 'sparkmates' and all that back then, but I'll admit, Juriji acted a lot like you… wild, free, really, really difficult to pin down for too long, not that I have that problem anymore." He chuckled as Novalight gave him a light whack.

Before they could continue, Novaligth heard her com-link go off. _"Yellow?"_

Optimus answered back. _"Novalight, have you and Qwezel return to base, it would seem that the humans have a few 'ground rules' to lay out for us, and also discuss the fact you have decided to take over the back of one of the hangars?"_

 _"_ _You expected me to recharge away from Qwezel? You surely see he can't fit in the corridors, so you should understand our pick of hangar instead, plenty of room, and there was a spare hangar for the jet we had kicked out, so you don't need to worry about that."_ With that done she cut the call and moved to sit upright and facing forwards. "Alright Qwez, back to the base we go, the humans apparently want to give us a few ground rules."

Qwezel nodded, banking to the left to return towards the base, letting out a light yawn as they began their decent. "Probably for the best."

Novalight nodded, shifting to curl up in Qwezel's mane like cables, letting off a low purr as she relaxed.

She'd slipped into recharge at some point, only letting off a mumble with the slightly rough landing which came from Qwezel's beach landing, seeing as the humans had prohibited him from landing on their runway for fear he'd end up wrecking it.

Ironhide was the one waiting for them, but just gave the tired Predacon a nod of his helm as the giant creature slithered by towards the hangar that had been partially freed up for them, having long since learnt there was no use trying to argue with the mech when he was half conscious, everything just went in one audio and out the other.

Ironhide still followed though, just encase Novalight rolled to the side in her recharge and slipped off, as she'd been known to do when she was younger.

He stopped at the hangar's back entrance, watching as the massive Predacon coiled around himself, using his maw to carefully create a bedding for Nova out of old training mats in the centre of his coils, before safely distributing his far smaller partner in the middle, his tail flicking out, and with a care one wouldn't expect from the colossal creature, flicked the light switch by the door and drew his wing over Nova, before finally turning to Ironhide. "Yes?" He yawned out.

Ironhide just sent the mech a smile, a rare occurrence by anybot's standards. "Thanks, for taking care of her."

Qwezel just let off another rumbling yawn. "Don't… mention it… anything for my… partner." His helm tucked under his wing after that, his other wings folded up at his side to prevent it from getting crushed under his weight.

Ironhide stood there for a few moments longer before turning and leaving, giving a shake of his helm before turning his gaze to the night sky above. "Those two idiots are gonna have their work cut out, hey Mia?"

He felt a light hum come back over the bond.

Content, he made his way towards his own quarters, looking forwards to a nice long, and much needed recharge.

* * *

 **Yay! Well, I do have some fun little news~ Due to a review, I decided to kick my ass into gear, and as a bit of a teaser, this is something happens next chapter~  
**

 **"AHAHAHAHAH! SUNNY! NOVA'S AN ORGANIC!"**

 **Until next time!**


	18. Blowing up the beach!

**Well, I'm pretty certain you're all going to enjoy this one, I can't remember the last time I was this nice to my readers... hmm... nope... don't think it's ever happened, oh well, now you get to see what that teaser was about! Yay! Hopefully this makes up for my previous 'transgressions'? Anyway, normal disclaimers have been stated before, on with the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 18

Four months later, California (More specifically, December 24th, Halloween put me in a Christmas mood for some bloody reason. My brain is weird.)

"Nova? Can you help me in the kitchen please?" Judy Witwicky called from the kitchen. "I need some help with serving and Ron won't move his ass!" The woman called.

Novalight's holoform moved from her place perched on the top of one of the living room sofa's, having been peering over Mikeala's shoulder to examine the large homework project her charge had been given by her 'Satanic' Mechanics teacher.

"Sure thing Mrs Witwicky!" She called, reaching out quickly to stroke Qwezel's head, the Predacon had finally gotten a holoform, it wasn't that of a human though, but instead a large Burmese Python.

Much to Sam's dismay and relocation to the other side of the room.

Skipping into the kitchen she found Judy pulling out a large roast Turkey from the oven, covered in equally roasted vegetables and herbs, and all of which had been topped with a honey glaze.

The smell was heavenly, and as if reading her mind, Qwezel slithered into the room right after, forked tongue flicking out and eyes half closed and dreamy in expression. "Smells heavenly, will I be allowed to have a share of this?" Qwezel enquired, quickly scaling up to the counter top so he could get closer.

Novalight chuckled and pushed his wandering head away from the main course before turning and picking up two trays full of side dishes. "At the table yes, not before everyone else." She warned.

Qwezel just grumbled but nodded, moving to slide back down off the counter and back out of the kitchen and towards the main dining area.

The table was already covered in the festive decorations and cutlery, enough for all of them, just, there was a chair set aside for Qwezel, but cutlery wasn't exactly something a limbless creature like he could use.

Bumblebee then strode in, easily moving between his sister and Judy to pick up the gravy, the smiling blonde giving a wave with his free yellow and black stripped arm before following them to set everything out, a set of personalised reindeer antlers bouncing on top of his mop of wild blonde and black hair, Novalight was also dressed up, wearing purple and white elf hat with her ears altered to look pointed. Qwezel had tried to doll himself up, but it was decided his colour scheme matched well enough.

"Sam! Stop being scared of the giant snake and get in here and help!" Judy shouted. "You too Ron!" She added, taking note of her husband's motion to change the TV Channel. "And no darts! We are watching a Christmas Carol and you are going to deal with it! The aliens must know of Dickens and I will make sure they see the Muppet and Disney version too if you change that damn channel!" She shouted, much to her husband's dismay.

"Can't they just watch it in their heads or something?!" He shouted back.

"Not if they want the full experience!"

Novalight and Bumblebee just exchanged worried looks.

Sam came tentatively into the dining area then, and had his eyes instantly gravitate to the giant snake perched on one of the chair eyeing up the feast before him, forked tongue flicking out and a blissful look on his face. "Can I eat in my room?"

Judy had whacked him with a spoon a moment later. "Sam! I have never allowed a Christmas dinner to be eaten at anywhere but the table, and just for that, park your skinny ass right next to Qwezel!"

"But mom!"

"Now mister!"

Cue another worried look between the two siblings as Sam fearfully sulked to the chair to the left of Qwezel.

"Mikeala honey, leave the homework for a bit and come in here, it's time to dine!" Judy then called, moving to sit at the head of the table and gesturing to Novalight and Bumblebee to sit either side of her at the head of the table, facing each other, putting Qwezel to Nova's right, leaving Ron to take the spot opposite from his wife, and Mikeala to sit next to Bumblebee, giggling behind her hand at how little of his chair Sam was somehow managing to sit on.

"Alright, let's give thanks, Nova, Bee, Qwezel, pray to whoever you want." She added, putting her hands together in front of her in prayer.

Novalight tilted her head to the side and glanced to her little brother, who just shrugged. _"Pray to Primus?"_

Novalight shrugged right back, glancing to Qwezel, who wasn't paying attention to anything but the food Ron had to hold him back from by the top of his neck, not that it was an easy feat.

 _"_ _Never had before… he was our creator right?"_ Novalight responded.

Bumblebee became thoughtful. _"Let's not think about it, this festivity is about family togetherness, right? And the Witwicky's invited us."_

 _"_ _Wonder how Sire and Uncle Optimus are at the Lennox's? Uncle Jazz went to Epps' family celebration, and good old grumpy Ratchet is back on Diego, with the soldiers who don't have leave right now."_ She responded, before taking note that the humans had finished their prayer.

"And now, dig in! But don't make a mess! And Qwezel! Wait for your serving! That Turkey isn't just for you!" Judy added when Qwezel, out of impulse went to lunge at the roasted bird.

"Sorry Mrs Witwicky… it just smells so divine~" He hissed out, practically in a trance as his head swayed from side to side eyeing the large bird.

"Ron, be a dear and carve the bird would you?" Judy enquired, seeing as the carving tools where perched next to Ron.

The meal was moderately uneventful, Qwezel ended up asking for fourths.

Most of the meal was otherwise uneventful, the odd discussion topic quickly evolved into fun re-enactments of events, examples of which included Ron trying to make an impression of Optimus when they'd first met, resulting in Novalight and Bumblebee doing their best to not try and laugh at the off tone baritone he'd managed to produce which honestly sounded nothing like their Prime, they'd failed miserably in the end and Judy had only just been able to catch Novalight's chair before the holoform could go tumbling backwards

Then there was Judy recalling a shopping trip recently where she'd had to slap another woman who'd tried to grab an on-sale fish from her during black Friday, which had started an all-out brawl in the frozen isle.

The three Cybertron natives swore never to enter a shop on that day after they heard about what happened when someone grabbed a palate knife and threatened to castrate anyone if they came near her and her Plasma trophy.

The next tale came from Mikeala, reminiscing about the time Trent had tried to get back together with her, failing at the first hurdle of course.

Novalight had been there, and so, in an odd case of De-ja-vu, he'd immediately turned to hit on her.

The two females, and Qwezel, had a blast recounting how they had Qwezel drop the mans car on the roof of their high school, the engine having been cut out, along with the axel, and the parts used as a breadcrumb trail from the teens house to the school, where with Nova using her cloak, he was hoisted up, and left him hanging from the top of the schools flag pole with only the band of elastic around his waist to hold him up.

He was only stuck up there for an hour, but the effect meant that Trent now gave Mikeala, and by proxy Sam and Novalight whenever she could be around, a wide birth, despite the formers complete un-involvement, due to he and Bumblebee being busy with Sam's grandmother, Judy's mother being to visit at the time, and, as seemed to run on his mother's side of the family, had acted like a complete crackpot for the entirety of her stay.

By the ending it was only Bumblebee who seemed to be remotely innocent of crazy activities since arriving on Earth.

Qwezel even ended up admitting to eating four abandoned motor homes on the flight over for this very celebration whilst Novalight had been taking a quick nap on his back just behind his horns in her normal spot.

It was a unanimous and unspoken decision however, to not bring up the madhouse which had been Halloween, their neighbourhood had lost many a decoration to the Cybertronian's mild freak out at the hanging humans props they'd come across whilst touring the streets.

Sam had, as seemed to be the running trend, brought up the time, two months prior when Bumblebee had transformed in the middle of a field they'd been taking a short cut through, which Sam, admitted to being responsible for, after the two ending up getting charged at my a Bull.

Bumblebee had been quick to point out they got out of it faster than Nova got out of a lesson on anything that didn't involve sending something to oblivion, and that it had all been Sam's idea, as much as he could with his holoform being incapable of speech due to its exact representation of their true forms.

In less than two hours, they'd eaten an entire Turkey, bones and all thanks to Qwezel, downed an entire jug of honeyed gravy, demolished a pile of Yorkshire puddings, mostly due to Novalight and Bumblebee becoming enamoured with the little gravy holders, Novalight even stealing the one Sam had managed to get himself. And everything else had been equally demolished.

The moment the last fork was put down, Qwezel quickly lunged at the large tray the Turkey had been in, busying himself with feasting off every single scrap available that he had previously missed.

Novalight laughed, reaching over and pulling her now much more manageable partner out of the tray. "Pig."

Qwezel was too busy savouring the taste to rebuke her.

Judy laughed. "Oh it's fine dearie, less for Ron here to wash up, meaning we can get to A Christmas Carol quicker!"

Ron just grumbled and got up, moving to collect all the plates and take them into the kitchen to wash.

"Alright, back to the living room." Sam had already left the area before his mother could even finish. "You know, I think Sammy is scared of snakes."

"Mom! Ratchet's on the TV!" Sam suddenly shouted from the living room.

Novalight and Bumblebee rushed to the living room, Mikeala and Judy following quickly behind, finding Sam was right in his shouting, as the CMO was in fact on the screen, well, his optic at least.

 _"_ _Blast it! How do you work this confounded contraption?!"_ The medic shouted, the view shaking as something was hit.

 _"_ _Hey! Watch it! It's working just fine and transmitting!"_ Another voice shouted off screen.

 _"_ _Why couldn't you have attached this video camera thing to a larger screen?!"_

 _"_ _Dude, it's my phone! I'm not slicing my phone up so that you can use it!"_

 _"_ _Bah fine! Ah, Novaligth, Bumblebee, how are you're festivities?"_ He enquired before snapping his helm round so they could only see the side of his helm. _"THROW THAT AND I WILL GIVE YOU A CHECK UP YOU WILL NEVER DARE SPEAK OF! I apologise, some of the humans have gotten themselves drugged off 'spiked eggnog'."_ A shudder went down the mech, even if they couldn't see it the rattle of plates was clearly heard.

Novaligth nodded. "Ok… err… why are you using the TV to call us?"

 _"_ _It's the only thing which I could tap into, because everything else other than the radio, which wouldn't of been up to par, are password protected and I did not want to accidentally stumble on something I would never manage to get out of my processor."_ He responded back.

Qwezel then slid into the room, quickly scalling up Novalight's leg and onwards until he was draped over her shoulders, his length meaning there was still a good portion of him on the floor. "Has anything occurred Ratchet?"

The CMO's optic bounced. _"Yes, I just picked up a bunch of data feeds from the Starship, Enursiea."_

Realisation shot through the siblings. "That's carrier's ship!"

 _"_ _Well, technically Prowl is still the captain."_ Ratchet pointed out.

"When are they getting here?!" Novalight demanded.

 _"_ _Tomorrow."_

"FUCK YEAH!" Novalight practically roared, jumping up in the air for a moment before spinning and tackling her little brother. "Carriers coming! Carriers coming!"

Bumblebee's holoform just grinned back, nodding happily as Qwezel tried to free himself from between them, moving to instead perch by the tree currently stack high with presents.

 _"_ _And, as I said previously, I have received a batch of data feeds, one of which is still live… from Sideswipe, I believe you would like to communicate with him?"_

Novalight blinked a few times before shrugging. "Sure, can you patch the link?"

 _"_ _That I can."_ His optic was then replaced by that of a grinning red mech.

 _"_ _Heya sweetspark!"_ There was a beat of silence as he stared at her, then Bumblebee, then the humans surrounding. _"AHAHAHAH! SUNNY! NOVA'S AN ORGANIC!"_

 _"_ _What?! Damnit! I hate those things! So squishy and dirty and…. Eugh…. Eugh… no… don't think about the sludge monster… don't… just don't…"_ Sunstreaker's voice came from out of view.

There was a long beat of silence in the human living room as Sunstreaker shoved his twins face out of the way and peered at them, _"Oh Primus… of all the… is this how you're still alive?! You croaked and came back a human? Why the frag would you do that femme?!"_ He shouted, before seeming to grow agitated. _"And why are you making that face?! This is genuine concern I'm displaying! That should translate to the Universe is ending to you?! Right?"_

Novalight couldn't hold it in anymore, she burst out in laughter, falling back into the comfy sofa with a 'thud'. Remaining incoherent as Bumblebee waved at them, catching the two mechs attention.

 _"_ _Wait… Bumblebee… how are… when did you become an organic?! Does the planet have some effect which alters your CNA?! Oh Primus! I refuse to land there! I refuse to go near a planet like that!"_ Sunstreaker exclaimed, before Sideswipe pushed him out of the way again, leaving the gold twin to fume and go on a rant in the background, stomping his pede a few times like a petulant child to try and vent for a few moments.

After a moment or so Novalight moved to sit up, wiping the tears which had formed away so she could see clearly. "You idiots, these are holoforms! I'm parked in the driveway!"

"And I'm in the back garden borrowing you're cloak." Qwezel spoke up, as if to remind her she felt Qwezel's tail wrap tighter around her fuselage.

Sideswipe tilted his helm top the side. _"Who's that? He doesn't sound normal… or any bot I know."_

Novalight smirked, an idea quickly forming in her helm. "Oh, he's my partner! But he's busy laying in the presents like an idiot, you'll meet him when you get here." She was practically beaming.

Sunstreaker re-joined his twin at the monitor. _"Partner? Explain."_

Novalight rolled her eyes. "We've been fighting side by side since he helped bring me back into existence with him, we've known each other a long time… and I doubt there's not a thing we don't know about each other, right bud?"

Qwezel smirked, picking up on Novalight's plan. "Why of course~ Why I know you better than you know yourself practically! And vice versa."

Sideswipe was clearly pouting at this point. _"But sweetspark!"_ He whined.

Novalight chuckled. "Oh shush you, anyway, enough about me and my partner over there, how's life been on your side?"

Sunstreaker seemed to become fearful. _"You're carrier, is terrifying."_

Bumblebee silently chuckled next to her. Novalight nodded before answering. "To be expected."

 _"_ _She threw Prowl through a wall when you got offed, I have never seen a femme make such an accurate impression of the Unmaker on the war path before!"_ Sideswipe exclaimed.

Sunstreaker nodded. _"Not even Elita could stop her, she nearly crashed into a planet she was in such a rush to get to the mud ball you're on now… she's actually flying this thing now, Prowl hasn't even dared speaking with her as of yet, or gone to the brig since!"_

Novalight snorted, shaking her head from side to side so her purple tinted pixie cut blonde hair could fly around her. "Yup, that sounds like carrier, she's probably going to break my spinal strut tomorrow, if me and Qwez over here can't get away fast enough."

 _"_ _Novie, she's gunning for you, there ain't gonna be no escape for you."_ Sideswipe declared.

Sunstreaker nodded, before taking note of something. _"Damnit, we have to go make final preparations for entry into this planets atmosphere… we got to go."_ He huffed, Sideswipe whined for a minute but in the end nodded. _"Alright, damnit… well, see yah next cycle!"_

Novalight nodded along with her brother. "Yeah, see you guys soon."

 _"_ _Oh one last thing! We love you!"_ Sideswipe exclaimed.

Novalight laughed. "Yeah, I got that when you turned into a face hugger, see yah Sides, and merry Christmas."

 _"_ _Huh? What's a…"_ The call ended.

Judy was in her vision a moment later, causing Novalight to let out a surprised cry and ended up falling on her little brother, who just flailed as the impact sent them both tumbling to the floor in a heap. "Ow."

"Nova! You have a boyfriend?!" Judy exclaimed.

"What! No! He just…! He has the hots for me! That's all!" She already felt her face growing hot, along with her parked alt mode.

Mikeala squealed happily. "He looks hot! You should so go for it!" She cheered.

Novalight just groaned and curled around herself. "But…"

Mikeala sat down in front of her, and with a gestured request to her nor recovered brother, they began trying to pry the holoform woman apart. "C'mon! Why not!"

"Because my feelings are being fragging slow in development! I know I like them both but… ugh… my emotions on this are about as clear as oil right now!" She groaned.

Qwezel hummed. "You're internal doubts?"

Novalight just groaned and nodded. "Every time I think about the both of them, I just get the feeling I'm not worth their time… there's that Solardancer fem, she's probably a better match for them anyway… And I have no idea if Sunny even has any kind of feelings for me…" She mumbled.

The four humans were just staring at her, at least until Judy asked. "Do Cybertronian females get to have two males to fuck or something? Damn, so lucky, and those two were hot!"

A look of mortification ripped across all those in the room.

" _MOM_!"

" _JUDY_!"

" _MRS_ _WITWICKY_!"

"Oh someone just kill me." Nova mumbled, wondering if her holoforms features could get any redder then they already were.

Bumblebee had already grabbed two cushions from the sofa and smothered his ears with them, head shaking frantically.

"What? They looked hot for dudes made of metal, and I was just being curious."

Novalight just groaned again, rolling over. "Judy… They're split spark twins… As in, they can't take two mates, they have to pick one because they only have one spark between them… it's an incredibly rare case… and please… you have a husband and son already!"

"Exactly!" Sam exclaimed.

Barking then interrupted them, turning all attention to where Mojo stood barking madly at a disinterested Qwezel.

"He's been here seven hours and now you notice the giant snake Mojo? Really?" Sam huffed, going to pick up the small dog.

Novalight chuckled, glad for the distraction.

Hopefully they'd avoid similar conversations, but a glance to the pondering face of Judy had her hopes dropping.

* * *

The next day, Indian Ocean, half three in the afternoon.

Novalight sat perched on Qwezel's helm, leaning against his horns as they watched the large starship descend through the clouds, it was certainly a sight, the clouds being pulled apart by the craft as it headed towards the barely large enough airstrip.

She and Qwezel had left the Witwicky's residence only about twenty minutes after all the presents had been unwrapped.

The two were cloaked, and planning to make quite the entrance.

"Ready for this Qwez?"

"You're the one about to be crushed by their carrier, why are you asking me that?"

"I was referring more to the fact you're a giant predacon and they will likely try shooting you out of the sky."

"Ah, fair point, oh well, I believe the human phrase is YOLO."

"In our case, I think it's more YOLT, you only live twice." She pointed out.

* * *

Diego Garcia

Ratchet stood watching as the doors to the starship stood open and a certainly Blue and white femme practically stormed out.

"Where's my mate and our younglings! Now!" Chromia demanded, grabbing the CMO by his front and yanking him down to her level.

Ratchet smiled. "And it's good to see you too Chromia, Nova and her partner should be returning from the states shortly, Optimus, Ironhide and Jazz will be returning in a few hours, however, Bumblebee is remaining to protect his and Nova's charges in the states."

Chromia tilted her helm to the side. "Partner?"

Ratchet nodded. "Yes, Qwezel, he's the one who brought your daughter back. Please don't shoot at him."

Chromia gave him an odd look before her attention was pulled away by a cheer from the door way.

A moment later Sideswipe was practically galloping down the ramp, followed by his Twin, who was doing his best to completely ignore said twin.

"Heya Hatchet! Where's Novie? Oh! Did you miss me?" He added, purring with a stupid look on his face Ratchet felt very tempted to smack off with his wrench.

But he was in too good a mood, the humans who'd driven him mad the day before with their antics where now all suffering monstrous hangovers, and so, he could revel in the peace, which had only now been disrupted.

Prowl came down the ramp next, followed quickly by Elita, Moonracer, Arcee, Flareup, Wheeljack, Jolt and a fem Ratchet had never met before.

"It's good to see you all well, and you young fem?" He enquired, addressing the Polyhexian fem, her paint job a culmination of different reds, oranges and yellows, what struck him was how young she looked, reminding him of when Novalight was only just getting experience in battle, translation, young.

"Solardancer sir, it's a pleasure to meet you!" She beamed.

Chromia chuckled. "This sweet little thing joined us when we saved her from some Cons, and she's quite handy when it comes to our engines, her family unit where ship mechanics by trade." Chromia praised.

Ratchet nodded. "Well, welcome to Earth, all of you, I know Optimus will say something similar later, but… ah… that would be Nova and her partner now, again, please, no one shoot at him."

Confused the new bots looked around, before they realised there was a very distinct sound of something heading towards them, quickly.

That was when, in an explosion of pixels, Qwezel appeared, letting off a triumphant bellow as he shot towards them, arching back up just before he hit the runway and banking hard around the ship and shooting back upwards, the force of his wings motions causing them to be knocked back a few meters.

"WHAT THE FRAG IS THAT THING?!" Wheeljack shouted, reaching for his blades, but Flareup stopped him.

"I see Nova!" She shouted, pointing up at the now corkscrewing Predacon's helm, where a mass of purple, white and gold could be seen crouching.

"Hey Sides! Got a gift for you!" Novalight yelled over the heavy beating of her partners wings, grunting as she drew a large blade from her subspace and lobbed it downwards towards the red mech.

With a yelp Sideswipe jumped back, bringing his servos up to protect him, and slamming against the blade, somehow stopping it just before it hit his faceplates dead centre. "Oh frag…" He vented out, before starring at the weapon which had very nearly just split his face in two.

Before they could react further, Qwezel's frame landed on the beach, the impact sending up a cloud of sand and debris, which in turn rained down on the those on the runway.

Including a large pile of seaweed which found itself perched and dangling around Sunstreakers helm.

The mortified scream which followed likely could have been heard across the island.

Novalight laughed as she slid down Qwezel's wing. "Well if that doesn't go and prove that the Autobot's resident narcissist has arrived, I don't know what would, right bud?" She enquired, turning to Qwezel, who just chuckled and nodded.

Novalight turned back to the group, she was just about to utter her next sentence when Chromia crashed into her, tackling her to the ground and into a tumble along the beach and under one of Qwezel's wings as the blue and white femme crushed her daughter to her.

"You're here… you really are alive… oh Primus thank you… Novalight! What in the name of Cybertron possessed you which went and got you offlined!?" She then roared, pulling away just enough to shout in her daughters audios.

"Errr…"

"Not good enough! Explain right now!"

"Umm…"

"Now!"

"Erk!" Nova choked, thrashing slightly as her carriers tight hold got a little to crushing for comfort around her middle.

Thankfully Qwezel we there to lightly pick her carrier up by his protruding tusk like fangs, using his wing to pry the two apart and then pick up his partner with before setting the stunned blue and white femme down. "Ma'am, please, she cannot respond if she needs to be sent to the med-bay for a crushed spinal strut." He declared shifting as Novalight clambered up his wing and slid down its arch and onto his back.

"Carrier, I'd like to introduce you to my partner, Qwezel, Qwezel, this is my carrier, Chromia, Auntie Elita, Auntie Arcee, Auntie Moonracer, Auntie Flareup, Uncle Prowl, Uncle Wheeljack, Jolt, and of course, Sideswipe and his bitching twin brother Sunny." She joked, clambering up to the top of his neck and returning to her normal perch. "They're not on the menu."

Qwezel chuckled, hellfire optics narrowing in mirth as he responded. "I assumed so, it is a pleasure to make all of your acquaintances, I'd shake your servos, but evidently I am lacking the limbs to do so." He shifted, sliding along the sand to get closer, using his wing to pick Chromia up and carry her back to the gaping others.

Moonracer tapped her mates shoulderplate. "Ratchet… that's a Predacon…"

Ratchet nodded. "Yes, and the one who brought Novalight back, and was apparently the one to snag her on the way to the Well to prevent her from passing on fully." He responded, moving to pull his mate into his side and give her a long overdue embrace. "Don't worry about him, he's as likely to hurt you a as a nanofly."

It didn't take more than a few seconds before Prowl slumped to the ground with a trail of smoke leaving his helm.

Once Qwezel had gotten within a comfortable distance of them, he lowered his neck down, allowing Novalight to hop off, and Chromia to carefully step down from his wing, still in a stunned state of silence.

Sideswipe stepped forwards, but then was shoved to the ground by Flareup, who, seemed to like Chromia's earlier idea and tackle her niece to the ground, squealing happily as she crushed the far younger femme to her. "My little Nova! I'm so glad you're alive! Oh! We need to blow something up to celebrate! Let's go!" She was already dragging Novalight down the beach before she'd finished her sentence.

As if in a trance the remaining bots watched as Qwezel rose back up and quickly turned to follow, plates rumbling across the ground and tail whipping out from side to side, easily keeping up with the two femmes.

Arcee laughed behind her servo and nudged Elita's side. "Just like back on Cybertron right?"

Ratchet spoke up then. "Oh no, I think you'll find that Nova's not the femme you once knew."

That had all attention on him again, barring Prowl due to his presently unconscious state faceplates down.

Solardancer tilted her helm to the side. "The twins always said she was a wild card, she looked pretty wild to me when she threw that blade at Sides, speaking of which, are you… ok? Sideswipe? Are you alright?" She enquired, turning to find Sideswipe running his servo over the blade which had been thrown at him.

"The craftsmenship…"

"She's been working on that damn thing for vorns, Primus knows what crazy stuff she's put into it, but as I was saying, I think you'll find our resident seeker has mellowed dramatically, mostly due to Qwezel's influence on her. He's a miracle worker I'll give you that."

Sideswipes helm snapped up from the blade. "What?! How?!"

Ratchet shrugged. "No idea, they spent a long, long time trapped in Limbo together, time works differently there, a day to us, I can't help but feel was orns for them, they were alone together for a long time, anything could of changed her when she was in that state of limbo." He responded.

A silence fell between those present.

Which was then broken by an explosion ripping across a stretch of beach a good while away.

Ratchet rolled his optics. "Doesn't mean the fix is perfect."

Sideswipe just grinned, placing his blade in subspace and pulling the pile of seaweed off his frozen in mortification twin. "Come on Sunny! I got to go thank Nova for almost killing me with this gift!" He cheered, racing down the runway with his wheeled pedes.

Sunstreaker shook his helm, shuddering before following after at a slower pace, checking his armour over again and again for any more residue which had been dumped on him, at one point finding a strange dried up five limbed creature he quickly tossed away.

Flareup sighed, moving to sprawl out on the sandy beach, not caring about any which was getting caught in the gaps of her armour. "Blissful." She purred as the smoke and embers rose in front of them.

Novalight chuckled, shifting to sit against Qwezel's side, said Predacon was quick to curl his neck around to rest on her lap, hissing out a rumbling purr as she began petting one of the two far smaller horns which hung on his lower jaw.

Flareup rolled over onto her front. "I mean it though Nova, you had us all so worried and stressed when Chromia broke the news, especially the twins." She added, watching carefully as Novalight stilled in her ministrations to her partner for a moment, catching his attention as well.

"Well, we were friends for a long time…" She mumbled.

Flareup frowned. "You weren't there to see them, Sideswipe was inconsolable, and Sunstreaker, I've never seen a chair be sliced into ribbons like that before."

"He broke a chair, it's kinda what he does when he's mad."

Flareup went to answer when a blur of red came over Qwezel and crashed into the ground, before spinning and tackling Novalight, arms quickly caging her to a bright red chest, thankfully Qwezel had been able to get his helm out of the way in time to prevent him being pressed into the ground by the mechs shaking legs.

Novalight felt a few digits grab her chin guard and jerk her helm up to stare at Sideswipe's grinning face, the same stupid grin he always had on when he was plotting to prank someone.

But then, it broke, and his servo shifted, moving to the back of her helm and pressing it into the crook of his neckcables as he easily hefted her up into his lap and just clutched her. "Don't… don't you ever do something… like that… again… I don't want to lose you…" He whimpered out, servos desperately gripping at whatever pieces of her armour he could grasp at.

Novalight remained frozen for a moment before carefully reaching her own arms and trapping him in her own hug. "I'm sorry Sides… I didn't see the round coming… I… I was trying to keep Bee safe…. Then nothing…" She mumbled. "When I came to… I was all alone, then Qwezel revealed himself and well… we're back now… and we're staying… we don't ever want to go back there." She responded, leaning her faceplates into the pulsating cables which lead up to his helm. "I missed you're crazy antics too much…"

Sideswipe choked out a laugh and pulled away just enough to lock optics with her. "And I missed all the times you almost killed me…" He joked.

Novalight rolled her optics and reached up to lightly whack the side of his helm. "You idiot."

He grinned then. "But I'm your idiot~" He responded, before leaning forwards and capturing her lipplates in a soft kiss, stunning the fem momentarily until he pulled away and nuzzled the side of her helm. "And I still love you."

Novalight froze outright, feeling something odd happen within her, a shift, a twist in her spark chamber, but before it had finished, Sunstreaker arrived, moving to sit on her left and Sideswipes right, his own features becoming oddly, sunny?

She didn't have time to process it, his arms came around her middle, between her two sets of wings, and his helm became buried in her own neckcables, barely fitting because of the shape of her collar. "Guess what the news of your death meant?"

Her optics shuttered a few times before she gave the most intelligent answer she could think of at that moment. "Errr."

He chuckled, actually _chuckled_ , as he pulled his helm out from under hers, removing his servo from around her wings and instead using it to tilt her helm up to stare at him directly. "It made me realise how much darker and empty the Universe is, when there isn't the hope of seeing your faceplates again." He responded, before pressing his own kiss to her golden lipplates.

He pulled away after a moment as she continued to sit there. "Nova?" Sideswipe called, shaking her shoulderplate slightly.

Qwezel's helm appeared then, barging between Sideswipe and Novalight so his left optic could stare at her. "Nove? Nove? Damnit, she's gone into a state of shock." He mumbled, before his tail flicked around, nearly clobbering Flareup had she not pinned herself to the sand in time, with another flick, the flat end of one of his tail plates whacked into the back of her helm, jolting her back to reality.

"Gah!" She yelped rubbing the back of her helm. "Why'd yah do that?!"

Qwezel huffed. "You froze up."

Novalight stared at him for a moment before turning towards the two twin mechs and quickly found her faceplates flushing blue. "Sorry about that… you just… surprised me… thought you'd settle with Solardancer or something."

Sunstreaker huffed. "She's a youngling, actually younger than you… way too young for us, and besides, what put that thought in your helm?"

Novalight just shrugged. "Thought you'd want something better, didn't know she was still a young one…"

Sideswipe beamed. "Well now you do, so… did you think over our… proposal?" He asked, tilting his helm to the side.

Novalight gave a slow nod. "Yeah… thought a lot about it… and… well…" She trailed off, glancing to her partner, who just let off a chuff and gave her a fang filled smile.

The twins kept their focus on her though, both caught in suspense and a quickly forming dread as Novalight turned back to them, an odd look they'd never before seen there.

"I accept… I wanna try this scrap you've been rambling on about the last few times we've been together, and now."

Those words hung in there air for a long moment, Sideswipe being the first to react, letting out the vent he'd held in. "You… mean it?"

Novalight chuckled. "When have I ever sugar coated anything?"

The reference went right over the mechs helm, he was too busy pulling her into another more drawn out kiss.

This time, Novalight reciprocated, tilting her helm to the side and letting a light purr come up from her engine.

Sideswipe pulled away when their vents became too overheated and Sunstreakers whacks to his helm became a bit too harsh, wanting his own turn with Novalight. "By the way, what the frag did you mean by 'Merry Christmas'?"

Novalight's helm just rolled back as a laugh left her.

"Oh Sides, there's so much you need to catch up on."

Sunstreaker huffed then, pulling her frame into his hold. "Later." He declared, before claiming her lipplates again, his own engine purring happily as Sideswipe moved to hold her from behind, boxing her in as Qwezel slithered over to Flareup and began pushing her in the direction of the others, much to the femme's complaints.

"Shhh, let them have their moment." He whispered.

"But it's so cute! And I only just started taking pictures!"

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed the reunion! See! I can be nice! It only took... eighteen chapters and the main character being killed by partial decapitation via firearm!**

 **Well, until next time! Toodles!**

 **Moon**


	19. That's one way to put a toaster to use

**Yay! New Chapter! Had so much fun with this one, and the next, although I should warn 20 isn't gonna be quite so long, but, hey, plenty happens, for example, Prowl gets punched in the face. Now then, enough of the teasers, normal disclaimers, blah, blah, done, now then, one with the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 19

It took a good half an hour for the twins to let Novalight out of their hold, having noticed how strange she'd become, and in turn how agitated the large Predacon had become.

The moment they let go, she'd practically sprinted across the sandy beach and tackled the Predacon's helm, her frame shaking slightly as he shifted until she was buried in his cables.

The two mechs exchanged a look before rising up to follow after their new femme friend.

"Nova? You okay up there?" Sideswipe called.

"Just fine!" She called down.

Qwezel cleared his vocalisers. "My apologise, since our return to the living, it has become apparent that we have become solely dependent on each other when it comes to comfort, it has been a gruelling process trying to split ourselves apart enough to function separately, and, as of yet, we have had little to no success." He admitted, shifting to lay fully on the sand, offering to them a lift.

They didn't seem to catch the offer. Novalight unfurled from his cables and patted the metal beneath her. "He wants you to hop on. Don't worry, he won't bite, and I'm sure you'd like an all-terrain tour of the Island." She stated.

Sideswipe grinned, moving to clamber up onto the Predacon, sidling up right behind her and wrapping his arms around her middle, being carefully not to damage her wings. "We'd love that, Novie~" He responded, before burrowing his helm into her neckcables again, before freezing for some reason and then pulling back. "Where's your lucky charm?" He enquired. "And, what's this scar on your neck from?" He mumbled, running his digit over the large discolouration which wrapped around the back off her cabling.

Sunstreaker had finally decided to join them when she answered. "The scar, is where I had my helm was nearly completely blown off, how I died, and the charm? Guess where that went~" She toyed.

Qwezel chuckled. "That fang was me."

Novalight gasped, whacking one of his horns lightly. "They were meant to guess you aft!" She exclaimed.

"Wait, wait, you mean that fang you just randomly pulled out of a half blown up wall, in the middle of a heated battle, and then kept as a Lucky charm, was this guy?!" Sunstreaker exclaimed, sitting just in front of Qwezel's wing bases. A little put off at how much larger the Predacon was than all of them.

"Yep!" Novalight chirped. Patting Qwezel's side. "Alright Qwez, let'sa go!" She cheered, grabbing onto two of his jagged horns as Qwezel coiled around himself. "You two better have good grips!" She called back to them, quickly feeling Sideswipes hold on her increase, a glance over her shoulder and over Sideswipe's letting her see Sunstreakers concerned features as he held onto her partners wing basses.

With a satisfied look on her own features, she patted her partners side again, and like a taught spring snapping, the four went rocketing into the air.

"HOLY FRAGGING PIT!" Sideswipe shouted, holding onto her for dear life as Qwezel's wings fully unfolded, beating heavily a few times to get them through the first cloud line, where he levelled off, slowing down in the process.

Glancing back, Novalight giggled behind her servo, taking note of Sunstreaker's still frozen in place faceplates, and the fact Sideswipe had actually tucked his helm between her wings and was pulling her into the space his bent over form produced. "Oh c'mon, it's not that bad." She called, reaching round and running her servo as best as she could on Sideswipe's helm, Sunstreaker was a bit too far behind them for her to reach though.

Sideswipes Cyan blue optics stared up at her, "Says the seeker! I thought we were going on a ground tour?!" He exclaimed.

Novalight shrugged. "Hey, I am not Qwezel's boss, he takes us where he wants." She responded, with a bit of shifting and pulling to free herself from his grip she turned around to face him. "Look, you don't need to worry; Qwezel's as likely to drop us as Sunny is not beating up whoever chips his paintjob." She tried to explain. "And if he does, he would always catch us, right big guy?" She called to him, earning a nod and a hissing purr. "See?"

Sideswipe chuckled, reaching out and pulling her into a tight hug. "Still as crazy as ever." He chuckled. "It never would have occurred to me we'd end up riding a Predacon on our first cycle of you being our femmefriend." He said, looking around at the rolling white clouds around him. "Woah… poufy."

Novalight rolled her optics at that, leaning up to peck his cheekplate. "It is nice isn't it? Relaxing." She sighed, letting her frame go limp and fall back in his hold, looking upwards towards the churning clouds above.

Sunstreaker had apparently recovered from his shock by this point, and had carefully made his way up to them, grumbling when he realised that Sideswipe was in the way and the Predacon they were on, was no way wide enough to get around. "This is crazy!" He shouted, glancing over the side and taking note of how great a drop it was before the ocean blue below.

Novalight chuckled, a wiry smirk forming on her features as she stood up, spinning on a clawed pede to get their full attention. "Sunny? Really? We've known each other since I set off a paint grenade in your cell, this, is nothing!" She cheered, cartwheeling backwards towards Qwezel's helm, moving with his side winding form in the process.

She came to a stop on his snout, glancing down at her partner with a wide grin on her features, which he did his best to replicate, barring the hundreds of serrated fangs within his maw. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker just starred at her, not really sure they wanted to know what she was planning.

"Hold on tight mechs!" She shouted, before jumping off Qwezel's snout backwards like it was a diving board, dropping straight down just in front of him, before grabbing tight to his two lower, skyward pointing tusks.

"What? … WHOA!" Sunstreaker shouted, when out of nowhere, Qwezel followed the pull on his helm, diving downwards before arching round until he was flying upside down, Novalight now using her arms to hold her in a kind of servo stand as Qwezel began looping in the air as they plummeted downwards, rolling round, and round, and round as the two mechs clung on tight, letting off joint cries as they continued to accelerated in both rotation and plummet towards the briny waters below.

The two partners just laughed, continuing with their play. "Having fun you two?!" Qwezel shouted, being carefully not to slice Novalight's servos with his tusks.

"YOU'RE BOTH **MAD**!" Sunstreaker responded, now clinging to the Predacon and pressed as tight to Qwezel's back strut.

The two just laughed, Qwezel declaring with a bellowing voice. "The sky is our domain! We do what we please, when we please!" With that he snapped his frame outwards, wings spreading wide and beating hard to send them into a vertical corkscrew, throwing his helm back and flipping Novalight off his fangs, sending her barrelling through the air away from them with a whoop of joy from her as she folded into as much of a ball as she could, and continued to hurtle downwards.

"YOU SAID YOU'D NEVER DROP HER!" Sunstreaker roared, watching as the femme who'd unintentionally smitten his spark became nothing more than a tri-coloured speck surrounded by deep blue waves.

"ONLY BY ACCIDENT!" Qwezel roared back, before reaching an altitude he thought appropriate, and with a harsh twist and beat of his right wing, flung himself in a full 180 degrees spin, and began beating his wings again, before folding them tight to his sides, and letting gravity take over and pull his hulking mass downwards, elating two panicked cries from the twin mechs.

"THIS IS WORSE THEN THE TAR PRANK!" Sideswipe cried out, clinging ever tighter along with his twin.

Qwezel just chuckled.

The Autobots thought he'd calmed Novalight down? Honestly he felt like it was the complete reverse, he'd never felt more alive than he did now, the adrenalin, the rush, the quickly growing form of his partner now spread out to slow her decent at her now slower terminal velocity.

He easily caught up, moving into a drawn out barrel roll around her, twisting his frame around and around, constantly watching his partner for the next cue.

He got it when she suddenly blasted on her thrusters, banking a hard right just as he was about to pass through the exact same spot in the air, leaving him to twist to follow, she fell back, taking hold of his fangs again, only instead of moving into more cartwheels, one thruster cut out, and the force sent them into a tight and high rate horizontal corkscrew through the air, his wings having to fold in partially as they beat to keep the both of them stable.

After that, things slowed down, Novalight cut her other thruster, and with a few swings, managed to get herself back in a crouching position just behind Qwezel's horns, giving the two mechs fond smiles as they remained pinned to her partners back. "You can look up now, we've stopped performing tricks." She called, scouting closer and running her servo over Sides shaking helm. "C'mon, it's perfectly safe."

Sideswipe tentatively lifted his helm up, revealing a wide grin. "Good to see your still you Novie~ Now… I think I need to focus on getting my spark pulsing again." He mumbled, glancing down towards where his chassis was.

Novalgith just chuckled, reaching down and pulling his helm back up by the chin guard, along with his frame. "Allow me to help then~" She cooed, before pressing their lipplates together in a heated kiss.

Sideswipe let off a surprised grunt for a moment, before letting off a rumble of his engine, quickly pressing back, the two quickly ending up with Novalight back strut down with Sideswipe holding himself up over her by his elbow joints, that was when Novalight pulled back. "That get your spark going again?" She enquired.

He just chuckled. "I think it needs to be put on spark support." He declared, moving down to claim her lipplates again.

That is until Sunstreaker decide he didn't feel like waiting anymore, and grabbed his twins legs, pulling him back towards him and off Novalight, before Sideswipe could react, Sunstreaker had already gotten up and walked over him, taking his place over Novalight, who was just laughing at the sight until he wound his arms under her and pressed her flush to him, lipplates meeting in an equally heated kiss.

Sideswipe huffed, before glancing over at the mech currently carrying them. "You ok with this?" He called, not wanting to accidentally peeve the colossal Predacon off.

Qwezel just chuckled. "It's fine, but you might want to take your glossa out of her mouth Sunstreaker, my landings are notoriously rough, and I doubt either of you wish it for Nova to accidentally bite it off." He called, drawing their attention to the fast approaching Island of Diego Garcia, namely the beach that surrounded the islands lagoon.

Sunstreaker pulled away from Novalight, starring at her flushed faceplates as she panted to try and cool her systems. "Ok, one, I'd never do that on purpose, and two… holy frag." She cursed, helm rolling back in bliss. "You two idiots know how tah _kiss_!" She groaned out, stretching out so that her helm rested in the mass of soft cables which spilled out from the back of Qwezel's helm.

Sunstreaker just let his engines loud purring speak for itself.

Sideswipe was a bit more vocal, a perverted grin forming on his features. "Oh trust us Nove~ You haven't seen anything yet~" He responded.

"We're landing!" Qwezel called, mere moments before his body crashed into the sand, ripping up another massive cloud of sand which then covered them, the impact nearly sending them flying had they not braced themselves.

Novalight laughed, slipping from Sunstreakers hold, not that it was difficult as he tried to shake all the sand off him, to limited success.

Going to take a step towards her and Qwezel's hanger, with the intention of relaxing for a bit, Novalight round herself bumping into something, jolting her, she glanced down and found herself starring at one Solardancer. "Oh, didn't see you there." She admitted, taking in for the first time how short she was, likely due to the fact she looked about as old as she was when she first officially enlisted.

"It's ok! I get that a lot!" She practically chirped back, reaching out her servo. "I'm Solardancer! It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs!"

She couldn't help but be thrown a bit by how upbeat she was, the little fem was practically glowing with positivity, reaching out she grasped the smaller servo and shook it. "Just call me Nova, ok?"

Solardancer nodded, her entire frame practically vibrating.

Glancing back to the twins Novalight spoke. "Ok, what were you feeding this kid? She's acting like a sparkling petro hound!"

Sideswipe chuckled. "Well, let's just say that she kinda idolises you, like, seriously, you're her version of Primus!" He declared.

Novalight felt her wings and shoulderplates droop. Glancing back at the young fem she couldn't hesitate the unnerve that filled her. "And, where did this come from?" She enquired, not sure she wanted to really know, but it was best to get it out of the way.

Solardancer grinned. "Well, after they saved me, I decided to make the Twins my idols! They were so awesome! How they sliced through those cons like it was premium oil! Especially Sunstreaker with his awesome sword/dual guns thing! I had to know where he got it from! So I asked and asked and asked! Finally he told me it was a gift from a 'really close friend' so then I asked Sideswipe, and he told me about you! You are awesome! A weapons prodigy! Not to mention a bad aft!" She exclaimed, jumping up and trying to make a pose like she was flying and shooting at some imaginary target. "Then I found out that they had the hots for you, and that just made me idolise you more! And when we get here? Not only have you come back from being offline, but came back with a Predacon you now ride upon! With an even cooler weapon made for Sideswipe?! You, you're just the most awesome femme ever! Teach me please!" She cheered, before moving to kneel down in front of the seeker fem.

Novalight couldn't tell how far her jaw had fallen, and from a glance to her side, she took note of how bemused and flabbergasted Qwezel looked, a glance to the Twins showed that Sideswipe had an embarrassed look and was trying to distract himself with a bunch of seagulls, and Sunstreaker was shooting said twin with daggers form his optics.

How was she supposed to respond to that?!

"Err… what?"

"Teach me! I'm already skilled in engines! But nothing to your level! Let me become your pupil so I may learn how to be an ultimate craftsfemme like yourself! Please! I beg you!" Solardancer pleaded, starring at her with optics with optics which burned with such a passion that Novalight couldn't help but feel a bit terrified.

"Well, I wouldn't call myself an 'ultimate craftsfemme' or even be of such a level… but, ok? I guess I can show you how I make weapons, and teach you and all that…" She actually prayed then that the femme wouldn't explode; she was shaking from excitement more than that time bomb in Peter Pan.

"YES! OH THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I'LL BE THE BEST ACOLYTE EVER!" Solardancer very nearly screamed, jumping up and down on the sand like a crazed petro rabbit.

She was sprinting for the hangers before Novaslight's servo could even try and still her, leaving it hovering in the air.

Sideswipe chuckled as he stepped up to her side. "She really is enamoured with you."

She was oh so tempted to deck him for that. But, she held in her desire to lash out and instead glanced at Sunstreaker. "So, now what?"

An arm snaked around her middle and pulled her into a red chassis. "We could sneak off~" Sideswipe purred.

Novalight just huffed, pushing herself out of his hold. "Or we could get you two knuckle helms some Earth friendly alt modes, I heard the 'Reliant Robin' is becoming quite popular in the odd place." She shot back. "I think it's look good on you." She taunted, just waiting to see their reactions as they looked up the three wheeled pieces of unstable junk.

Their expressions where comedy gold, Sideswipe's jaw dropped and a look of horror quickly formed on his features, whilst Sunstreaker seemed to actually pale, jaw wobbling with optics blown wide.

Deciding not to wait around, she jumped up to grab onto one of the horns jutting out from Qwezel's lower jaw, as the Predacon made a speedy getaway until they were far enough away for their raucous laughter to be drowned out.

Three hours later, Novalight was at her work bench, which was basically a makeshift table with equally makeshift tools because the humans couldn't find a way of producing tools big enough for her, her own tools which were built into her digits where slowly performing their tasks, the reason being the Polyhexian femme currently piggy backing between her wings and watching with rapt attention at every little thing Novalight did, said larger seeker was just glad the smaller femme was small enough to fit between the two pairs of large wings.

Qwezel was happily curled up just behind them taking a nap, having declared he was quite knackered after their stunt flight earlier.

The sun had long since set, the hanger doors slid closed and the lights kept off expect for the large old Hollywood film light Novalight was using to illuminate her desk.

It was a peaceful silence, after Novalight had asked as calmly as possible if Solardancer could hold back from any unnecessary commentary.

At least until the doors to the front of the hanger was pushed open and Prowl stormed in, jolting Qwezel awake and causing Novalight to screw up the weld she'd been doing, with a huff she turned to face the scowling Praxian. "Yes Prowl?" She gritted out, irked that she'd have to now fix the weld.

The SIC slammed his servo on the desk, pressing his faceplates into her comfort zone. "How did you do it?!" He demanded.

Novalight just raised an optic ridge at him. "Huh?"

"The twins! They've been standing motionless on that beach for three hours! How were you able to do that?!" The Praxian demanded, looking almost desperate to know her secret.

Novalight just shrugged, turning in her equally makeshift spinning chair to start sorting out the mess of a weld which had been made. "Just told them to take the 'Reliant Robin' vehicle as their alt mode, didn't think it would crash their processors like that, honestly thought they'd stormed off to sulk, mostly Sunny I'll admit."

The mech stared at her for a moment, before apparently looking up said vehicle, almost immediately his jaw dropped. "The humans actually went through with such an invalid design?!" He muttered out.

Novalight nodded. "Yup."

Prowl vented, before turning and heading back out of the hanger. "I need to go lay down for a bit… I apologise for disturbing you." With that he pulled the doors closed behind him, before popping his helm back in. "What is it that you're working on their anyway?"

Novalight smirked, picking up the object and displaying it to him. "A high explosive disguised as a toaster, leaves the enemy stunned as to why you threw a toaster at them, then, when the spring goes, it pulls the pin from the grenade and, BOOM! Less likely for them to get out of the blast radius when their confused as to if they should run or not." She answered.

Prowl just gaped at her for a moment, and the infectious grin Solardancer was bearing. "I… I don't even want to know." He declared, deciding one glitch out that day was enough.

"Bye, bye sir!" Solardancer called, before turning her attention back on the open panel Novalight was working on. "You could fix that with a relay circuit, that would remove the problem without you have to worry about damaging the circuit board." She pointed out, tapping the point it would go with her digit.

Novalight glanced at her in surprise, not having thought of that option, but nodded, reaching across her desk to the large human filing cabinet she was using to hold all of the smaller components she had been able to aquire, using the tweezers which came from her left pointer digit to pick it up. "Good idea." She mumbled, before falling into a content silence once again, Qwezel already back in recharge behind them.

Checking the large clock in the wall, she decided she'd have time to finish her little project, and then head off once she was done, she'd possibly offer Solardancer to stay with her and Qwezel for the night, seeing as the walk between their hanger and the main quarters was a bit of a journey.

* * *

Four hours later

A sound from outside roused Qwezel, the large Predacon grumbling under his vents as he lifted his helm up from the coil he'd made around his partner and her pupil, spotting in the incoming forms of his partners suitors.

With a voice distorted by his tiredness he addressed them. "I see you finally got over you shock?" He mumbled out, hell fire optics shifting between the two.

Sunstreaker didn't comment, and Sideswipe just shrugged. "It was pretty funny I'll admit looking back, we came to show her the alt modes we did choose."

Qwezel chuffed. "Well you'll have to wait for tomorrow, Novalight and Solardancer are recharging." He stated, shifting to glance into the centre of his coils where the two where curled up on the training mats.

Sideswipe smiled, walking up to him and patting one of his segments. "Mind if we join her?"

Qwezel looked between the two at the moment, shaking his helm. "So long as you behave, and I will not be held responsible if she decides she does not appreciate the gesture." He warned, before lowering his helm down and opening his maw wide enough to pick the red mech up with his tusks, easily lifting him up into the air and depositing him against the side of his coils so as to avoid accidentally hurting either of the femmes already within, once Sideswipe was down,. He did the same with Sunstreaker, watching as the two mechs moved to lie on either side of his partners recharging frame, being surprisingly careful in not trying to disturb both Novalight and Solardancer.

* * *

The next morning

Solardancer was the first to wake up, mumbling tiredly as she rolled over, and ended up instead laying across a gold mass, drearily she tried to focus her optics, before jolting when she realised who she was laying on.

Taking in what was before her, the young femme almost squealed.

Her teacher was laying faceplates down in the training mats, and both Sideswipe and Sunstreaker seemed to be fighting over her in their recharged, grunting drowsily as they yanked at her middle, only for the other to do the same.

Evidently her teacher was a heavy enough recharger to even notice.

Glancing up she found Qwezel peering into his coils, a goofy smile on his features. "Morning young one." He whispered, lowering his helm down to give her a friendly nudge.

She giggled, reaching up to pet the side of his helm and watching in awe as he began purring, lower jaw dropping in bliss and long forked glossa lolling out of the side. "You big goof." She whispered back.

He was too busy enjoying the petting to respond.

For a few minutes the two awake residents of the hanger where content as they were, before Solardancer's tanks rumbled.

And somehow, that's what woke Novalight up, the femme grumbling as she tried to get up, only to find herself being pulled about in a unconscious game of tug of war between the twins, with a huff she lifted her fists up, and brought them down on both mechs helms, too tired to really care at how they yelped awake, freeing her as they clutched their now dented helms, sitting up on knees she glanced over at a giggling Solardancer and her partner, who was barely holding in his own amusement. "You hungry kid?" She asked.

Solardancer flushed, but nodded.

Pushing herself up, Novalight walked over to the smaller femme, and actually hefted her up, moving her around so that she could cling to her back strut like she had the night before, once the Polyhexian femme was secure, she turned to Qwezel, who was already unfurling his coils from around the training mats. "Let's go get some energon Qwez, oh and you two, I don't like waking up and finding myself cramped for space." She called to the two mechs who were only now sitting up.

Sideswipe pouted. "But we behaved!"

Sunstreaker was too busy trying to feel how bad the dent in the side of his helm was to respond himself.

Novalight just shrugged. "Well now you know, c'mon Qwez, I can hear your tanks already, and I heard word their bringing a new shipment of scrap, it should be almost here by now."

Qwezel perked up at that, happily sliding out of the back door with Novalight and Solardancer. "I'm glad to hear it, so, what is on the agenda today?" He enquired.

Novalight just shrugged again. "Well I need to update Sunstreakers blade." That earned an excited squeak from Solardancer. "Then there's the testing of that prototype Toaster grenade, I'm sure Aunty Flareup would love to help with that. Then We've got patrol over in South America this afternoon, meant to do a scanning run looking for Cons so we're probably gonna be getting back late…" She was cut off by Sideswipe racing in front of her on his wheeled pedes, this was when she noticed he looked different, more, Earth styled.

"But Novie! We just got together!" He complained, reaching out and pulling her into another hug, being careful not to crush Solardancer in the process.

Novalight raised an optic ridge at him. "Sides, I have to do this, it's a routine mission, me and Qwez do it once every two weeks, scanning a continent, it isn't the most effective, but we can't do more because of how much we have to ration Energon. Besides, I'll be gone a day at most, stop acting like I'm never coming back." She declared, peeling herself from his hold and walking fully out of the hanger to join Qwezel outside.

"Last time you left us, you died. We're not losing you again."

She froze for a moment and turned to find Sunstreaker striding towards her, a look of determination on her faceplates. "Sunny, it's a mission, that, that was a one off, there has never, and I mean never, been anything remotely dangerous, outside of Qwez once accidentally getting a bird to the face. If that can even be classed as dangerous. Look, we don't make contact with any cons, we fly way over helm and just scan the area, no conflict, no danger, routine." She pressed.

He let of a vent. "Fine, but, be careful… keep each other safe." He nodded towards Qwezel, who just chuffed.

"I would protect my partner with my own spark casing… just as I had to before." He responded, watching as all four locked up and Novalight tilted her helm to him, at that moment he felt his own spark stop for a moment, realising what he'd just revealed.

The twin's jaws dropped, along with Solardancer's.

"W-what?!" Sideswipe managed to get out.

There was no way he could get out of the hole he just dug.

"Well… you… you see I felt the Allsparks energy when Nova's body was brought to it… I… I knew if I tried, I could break through and take over my fang, I did, I connected with the Allspark, but to bring her with me, I had to fuse our beings, if only for the duration of the time needed to place her pulsing spark into her chassis, she was dormant I should add, until the Allspark gave her life. I'm sorry, but this temporary merge is likely one of the major causes for why we cannot be apart, being fused gave both of the chance to live again, apart, our sparks instinctually fear we will perish, once more." He declared, his frame drooping until he was sprawled out on the rough terrain behind the hanger. "My deepest apologies, but it was the only way I could think of in the mere split second moment of time we had… a moment longer, time fluctuated there, and after all the time I had been trapped within, I had learnt to feel when a shift would come, I'd had to fight them to keep mine and yours in-sync… had I waited a moment longer, months could of past, it was the first time slowdown in some time for me. I was so scared we'd not make it, I was foolish." He admitted.

The twins and Solardancer remained in stunned silence, leaving Novalight to speak. "So… That's how you did it…" She spoke, not turning to face him. "Well then… wow… don't worry… I'm not mad… but why did you never say anything… before now…"

Qwezel averted his gaze. "I didn't want you to hate me, that's the simple answer…"

She turned to face him then, taking a few driven strides before kneeling to look him directly in his far larger optics. "You gave me another chance, why would I hate you for that. In my opinion? The ends justify the means, now we have tanks to fill, right Solar?" She enquired to the femme still clinging to her once she'd risen back to full height.

The three mechs watched as she strode away, not moving or even looking to each other until her pede steps had drifted off into the distance.

The next moment Qwezel was dodging a plasma shot.

Snarling her shifted, spreading his wings out pushing himself up to tower over them. "I see you have some… discrepancies." He hissed, shifting to bring his plated tail round, rattling it from side to side in warning.

Sunstreaker, who was the one who'd fired, snarled right back. "You fused your sparks?! What kind of monster are you?!" He demanded, lining the sights of his transforming weapon with the spot directly between Qwezel's optics.

Qwezel just snorted. "If I hadn't, she would be still with me in Limbo, and we would have lived the equivalencies of lifetimes together, we would have been linked, trapped in limbo, longer then this very war has been transpiring! Or , would you of preferred it if I left her there alone?!" He shot back. "In my opinion, doing that act was a service to you! Didn't you want this?! It looked like that to me! I saw her life, through her optics ever since that day she pulled my fang from the wall, I saw, everything, well, except when she wished for privacy, but that didn't include your twin pining for her affections!" He shot back.

The two mechs stepped back, surprised at the revelation. "You…" Sideswipe muttered.

"Watched in silence as she nearly lost her brother, had to part from her best friends, had to put herself in life or death situations on nearly a cycle by cycle basis, when I could finally… protect her, I had sworn I'd do everything in my power to keep her from harm… but by that point… she was dead… I never got the chance to live side by side with her… then… in that one moment, that one tug towards life, I took it, so that I could protect her like I always wished, and I will never stop protecting the one who gave me a reason to live, to experience all there is to experience, and love the second chance I've now been given." He declared. "I hope you understand, I fused our sparks so that we could both live, so that I could protect her, so her family wouldn't have to lose a member like they almost had before, so that she could get the chance, to learn to love, and feel that love returned equally." With that, he pushed past them. "Now if you'll excuse me, I cannot stand being apart from her, my fear of her perishing is too irrationally high." With that, he disappeared around the corner of the hanger to follow.

The twins just stood there, staring at the spot where Qwezel's tail flicked out of view.

"Sunny… I…"

"We need to apologise… I need to apologise… I should of thought, not just shot at him." His gold twin responded, before quickly wheeling after the Predacon, leaving Sideswipe to quickly follow.

* * *

 **Welp, there we have it, Nova's made a incendiary toaster, the twins are likely never going to ride on Qwezel again, and Solardancer has begun adopting the tendencies of being a giant alien robot Koala. Just another day in Paradise hey?**

 **Well, until next time, toodles!**

 **Oh and that's why those two are so clingy, well one of the reasons.**

 **Moon**


	20. Predacons and Cyclones, do not mix

**Alright! A tiny crack in the previously sealed doorway of Nova's origin this chapter! Yes, that is an important thing if this plot is going to go anywhere other than the movies. Anyway, this one's a bit shorter, but the next one kinda makes up for it? I know I've been getting odd looks whenever I look over it in a public place (The Bunker, you wouldn't know what that is), mostly due to my attempts to inhale my laughter, thus sounding like a pig. Gah! Stop getting distracted! Normal disclaimers, are, normal, and incredibly boring, now then, one with the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 20

Four months later

Ironhide stood vigil at the Main hanger's doors, watching as the torrential rain hammered the tarmac of the runway.

Solardancer stood at his side, servos wringing through each other as her optics darted through the thick rain, searching for her teacher and their partner. "They'll be okay? Right?" She asked.

Ironhide glanced down towards the femme, who locked optics with him. "Yeah, those two are tough, they'll be back soon." He responded.

Chromia walked up to them, sidling up next to her mate, taking his servo in her smaller one. "It's been two days… this tropical storm is a nightmare." She mumbled, wincing as a harsh gust came crashing into the hanger through the open doors, just as another striking bolt of light struck the ocean far off, illuminating the horizon for a brief singular moment.

"But, they should be here by now… hasn't she said anything over the bond?" Solardancer asked, shifting and turning her gaze down to the gauntlet on her right wrist, her teacher had made it for her, equipped with all the tools she'd need, and a moderately sized serrated blade which she could use if she was ever in danger.

Chromia and Ironhide turned to each other. A simple glance was all they needed before they turned back to the young femme with forlorn looks. "Nothing since this morning, she and Qwezel are probably having to focus solely on flying." Chromia responded, kneeling down and opening her arms out to the young femme, who quickly accepted the offered hug.

Ironhide followed his mates lead, reaching out and running a servo over her helm, which was round in shape, unlike his own daughter, who's helm was more aerodynamic and sharp in formation. "If there's one thing that Nova does better than making the most abnormal creations known to the universe, its flying." He tried to console, glancing down at the 'Roastie Toastie' as Flareup had fondly dubbed the exploding toasters Novalight had garnered a liking for making. The devices had been upgraded, now needing the lever to be pushed before it detonated, instead of a violent jolt, the change coming from when a human had accidently dropped one, and almost got blown up had Qwezel not been fast enough in his reaction of getting the human out of the blast range.

"Yeah, yeah, where's the Twins?" Solardancer asked, glancing around, normally the two mechs would be glued to their spots just to the left of where they were for the few hours before Novalight and Qwezel's estimated arrival.

Chromia quirked her lipplates. "They got slagged off at Prowl for sending them out despite the forming storm, and ended up getting brigged, they're being let out in an hour I think."

Ironhide nodded, still bearing the dents the two mechs had caused when he, Optimus and Prowl tried to drag the two to the brig. He understood the two's sentiments, he wasn't best pleased about this, but Prowl had insisted the routine scanning of Russia, Mongolia, China and India, where necessary for the continued vigil for Con sightings.

* * *

Somewhere on India's coast

"I swear, if the boss finds out you talked me into this, we'll both loose our helms!"

"Shut up you fool! You were all for this when you got them here!"

"Yeah, before we had to drag this freaks gigantic aft _up,_ _a,_ _cliff_!"

"That's what the powerlifts are for!"

"Yeah, except they don't like this 'rain' scrap!"

"Would you quit whining?! We're almost there. See? The caves right there, they'll be sheltered inside, I hope."

"What were they even thinking? This thing is a giant lightning rod! Surely they knew they were gonna be struck!"

"Oh you know you'd happily do the same you idiot! Just to get yah aft as high as a satellite."

"You have me there, but hey, I don't have any real value do I? I'm just a whack job!"

"Look, you know that's not how I see this."

"Shut up yourself you sappy piece of slag, I'm only helping you so I can rub it in the bosses face when this all goes to slag."

"You know, for a mech who does nothing but act like a fool. You love to be a pessimist."

"Huh, says you, you clown, honestly, you were a fool for sticking around on Cybertron, but, you did, and now look where that choice got you."

"Shut up! You think I don't regret my actions?"

"Nah, I know you regret them, I just love reminding you that you were such an idiot, getting stuck like this, like a little pet in the big bosses cage~."

"Where, past tense, I'm not going to do something that foolish again. Not when her life is on the line."

"She turned out pretty damn well, well for a pyrotechnic maniac, when was the last time you saw her exactly? When she was a sparkling?"

"Don't remind me! Don't make me remember that!"

"…Right, right, traumatic experiences are traumatic and frag yah helm up, get that a hundred percent, as you well and truly know."

"Sorry. I'm just… tense… I mean… that Predacon of hers could come around any moment and take this the wrong way."

"Pfft, she certainly would, I hear she's so violent, she shoots her alarm clock, and those things just make fragging irritating sounds, you're on a whole different level of 'fill up with grenades and burn to a crisp' on her list I bet."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, now can you give me a breem of silence so I can try and take in the fact I'm sitting in front of my daughter?!"

"You mean cradling her and acting like she isn't a full grown femme, who, may I remind you again, will blow yours and my own handsome helm off if we stick around?"

"Exactly why I just asked you to shut up."

"Can we go already? Seriously, big reds getting twitchy."

"Gah fine, ruin my one chance I've had, ever, to hold my own daughter! You are such a pain!"

"And yah stuck with me, now that we've finished that, let's go! Seeing serious life in old lightning rod over there!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming… you are such an aft…"

"Hey, look at it this way, at least your still here, if you'd been spark mated to that femme you liked so much, you wouldn't have been here to convince me to help save them from the briny deep."

"… I am so tempted to hit you right now…"

"Nothing's stopped you before~ YOWCH! That hard?! Really?!"

"Serves you right for mentioning my mate like that! If she was still online, we'd be far, far away from here living a peaceful life!"

"Oh shut it with the mate and 'peaceful life' scrap, she croaked, don't affect me, don't affect the purple demon, don't affect the bigger, red demon, you've had your one sided sire/daughter bonding moment, so let's go!"

"One moment… I'm so, so, sorry I could never be there… I'll find a way to make this right…"

"Oooh, dangerous words, imagine if boss heard that? He'd have yah helm for 'treason'."

"Shut up! One day I'm finding a way out of this, and if I have to kill you all to do it, then so be it!"

"Ouch, I'm hurt, now let's move it, Boss is probably wondering where we've gotten to."

"I hate this."

"Not surprised, you are our 'prisoner without chains', hey, 'buddy'?"

"Call me that again, and I swear to Primus himself I am firing a prototype up your aft next chance I get!"

"Again, nothing's ever stopped you before~."

* * *

A few minutes later

Qwezel groaned, his processor feeling a little on the shaken and mashed side as he tried to work out what had just happened, the only thing he could figure out at present time, was his left wing was stinging like a fragging glitch, and his frame was soaked.

"Ugh… feels like that time I accidentally picked up one of Jolt's whips." Novalight groaned, having come around just before him, shaking her helm from side to side as she tried to clear the static from her processor, before flopping back down on her side, and then sitting right back up when she realised she was half covered by a large thermal blanket. "The legitimate frag?"

Qwezel chuffed, lifting his helm up to see what had startled her, as she in turn looked to him. "Didn't realise you'd carry a thermal blanket." She declared, confusing her partner greatly.

"But, I don't carry them, I do not have subspaces, remember?" Was his answer, before shifting closer and giving the blanket a sniff, nothing, the scent which radiated from it was a culmination of his partner, and whatever else it had been in contact with, and he couldn't place any of the others as a definitive bot. One they had never encountered before?

"Ah, hmm, alright then." She turned to look outside, watching as another bolt of light came, quickly followed by the booming roar of its thunderclap.

Frowning she delved into her bonds, quickly finding her creators. _"Sire? Carrier?"_

 _"_ _Primus above! Novalight! Where are you femme?!"_ Her sire responded almost immediately.

A quick attempt to look at her location on her HUD made her wince. _"I don't know, most of my internal systems are still rebooting, and the others are fried."_

 _"_ _Fried? How? Novalight don't tell me you were struck by lightning."_ He carrier spoke up.

 _"_ _Then I won't say anything."_

 _"_ _Fragging pit, at least tell us you're safe."_ Ironhide called.

 _"_ _Yeah, we're in a cave, somewhere."_

 _"_ _Stay where you are, is Qwezel alright?"_ Chromia asked.

Novalight glanced over at her partner, who's wing was doing nothing but making the most uncomfortable screeching sounds as he tried and failed to stretch it, a pained grimace on his features. _"I think his wing took the brunt of the damage, I'll see what I can do, but I think Ratchet is going to have his work cut out for him on this one, it looks really bad, and sounds just as horrid."_

There was a few moments of pause before Ironhide spoke again. _"Hold tight then, when your systems are running, let us know where you are, then, we'll come and get you, ok?"_

 _"_ _Yeah, got it, we'll stay put and I'll report in later, outside of being quite chard, we're fine."_

After that the bonds closed again and Novalight shuffled over to her partner's wing. "Give it here." She ordered, reaching up to the second curving joint in his wing, which seemed to be the point of contact, if the burnt black and paint peeled metal was anything to go by.

Qwezel nodded, shifting and letting off a pained hiss from between his fangs as he lowered the limb into her waiting and expert servos. "I'm sorry Nova, I…"

"Don't, we shouldn't have flown in that weather, we're both at fault for following Prowl's orders, guess trying to fly above was a bit more difficult then we'd expected huh?"

"I've never experienced winds like that before, felt more like a Cyclone then a mere tropical storm." He responded, wincing as Novalight poked a cluster of wires which had been exposed and partially melted from the extreme heat.

"There's no way this is bearing you weight, not that I'd let you with an injury like this." She huffed, reaching up to the part of her helm which hung over the top of her faceplates, and pulling down her improvised goggles, multiple lenses were cracked and the strap was badly singed, but it still worked well enough as she examined to a greater precision the impact point, the hole was still hot to the touch, and the area was going to need multiple bracers to hold a replacement joint. "And from my guess, flying will be quite the no-go for you for quite a while, and I swear Qwez if you give me that 'I can handle it' slag again, I will yank on your cables for a month." She warned, watching as he locked up in concern, his visible hell fire optic turning to her, the slit centre wide, out of the darkness of the cave, or shock she couldn't be bothered to place.

Huffing she felt a cold chill rattle through her plates as a blast of wind rushed at them from the raging storm outside, glancing back to where she'd been laying she reached out and grabbed the thermal blanket, tossing it up over her wings to shelter the sensitive metal from the rain and wind flowing through the wide entrance.

Turning back to the wound, she drew her tweezers from one of her digits, hoping to remove some of the irreparable wires, pistons and whatever else which was about as likely to work as a rock being used as a battery.

She stopped however, when she realised that the small torch function on her goggles had practically exploded. "Ah frag me sideways, hey Qwez? Think you can light the place up for me? No way am I gonna try and do this in the dark." She asked, glancing up at him, taking note of the large jagged lines which covered the entirety of his left side, the cables she'd been perched upon charred and partially melted, they were likely hurting the most due to their sensitivity.

Qwezel nodded none the less, opening his maw and summoning some of the paralytic gunk he was able to produce, up so that it could rest in his lower jaw, the gunk had a luminescent quality, akin to glow worms really.

"Thanks, now, let me get to work… this may hurt… a lot."

* * *

Diego Garcia

The Twins had wasted no time racing to the main hanger entrance once Ratchet had released them, he'd called to them, but they'd ignored the mech, at one point nearly barrelling Wheeljack to the ground had the Wrecker not had the sudden reflexes of a neo-feline and managed to jump out of the way in time.

They only came to a stop when they arrived at the hanger, and made the worrying realisation that the now familiar sight of their femme friend and her partner reporting on their lack of or any findings they'd had on their scanning run.

Solardancer stood by Chromia at the hanger doors, that was where they first looked, until a commotion from the other side of the hanger drew their joint attention.

Optimus, Jolt, Elita-one, and Flareup were all doing their damndest to prevent a seething mad Ironhide from landing another blow on Prowl, who Moonracer was already checking over, the side of his helm dented in from an impact which looked very much like a fist.

"…Stuck out there in Primus knows what point from here to the edge of this damn freak storm!" Ironhide roared.

"Ironhide! Cease this! Novalight and Qwezel are well and online!" Optimus managed to get out, practically at a horizontal angle as he and his allies in this somehow oddly matched tug-of-war struggled to hold onto the seething sire.

Sunstreaker had already began storming towards the scene when Sideswipe caught his shoulder. "Maybe we should as the less volatile bots?" He pressed, gesturing to where Chromia and Solardancer stood, their forms being battered by the rain as well as wind the rest of them were experiencing.

With a huff Sunstreaker nodded, turning back around to approach the two vastly different coloured femmes. "What's happened?" He called.

The two femmes turned to them, a fearful look from Chromia was all that was needed to seal the notion in the twin's helms that something had gone wrong.

Solardancer was the one to speak. "Qwezel was struck by lightning, he's hurt bad, and Nova's systems haven't gotten back up and running yet to let us know where they are."

"Lightning? They were struck?!" Sunstreaker was able to get out through his shock.

Solardancer gave a timid nod, staring up at the two far larger mechs. "Well, he's a giant lightning rod effectively, they're sheltering in a cave somewhere." She tried to explained.

Sideswipe's arm snapped out, servo gripping his twins shoulder as he'd turned again towards the commotion further back in the hanger. "When did this happen?" He asked, trying to get over his shock.

Solardancer thought for a moment. "About half an hour ago, Jazz is already helping organise a ship to go to wherever they are, you know, to pick them up, until then, we're gonna have to wait."

They both felt their fists clench, wait, at this point they'd come to despise the notion of waiting, it always meant their femme friend wasn't with them.

Sure, their relationship with her was still developing, and beside the odd peck or hug, Novalight had decided it better to take their time. Waiting.

Her words had been along the lines of wanting to make sure that they all felt the same way, and that she wanted breathing room in the relationship, being close was fine, they just couldn't swamp her.

It had made things a bit more difficult for the two mechs, having to watch carefully for the times they'd accidentally pass her boundaries, and have to a dodge a mostly physical swipe at them, they normally didn't hurt much, but other times, well, they'd known what they were getting themselves into with Novalight, feisty was just something she was, and it did add quite the appeal.

But now?

This latest development just made them more concerned of when Novalight and Qwezel were sent on missions, alone, without them,

Solardancer broke their train of thought then. "If you're thinking that you should have been there, tell me, have you got a weapon hidden in there that can beat the scrap out of a natural phenomenon like a few hundred thousand volts of electricity? No? Then stop looking like you're planning to lock Nova away or some scrap like that." She huffed.

Sunstreaker scowled at the young femme, before huffing and turning his attention to the outside world. "Regardless, we're going with the rescue party."

Solardancer just shrugged, un-effected by the statement.

* * *

Karnataka, India the next day

The sound of heavy pede falls was what brought Qwezel round from the light recharge he'd fallen into lifting his helm up to listen, he found a jolt of joy entering his spark when he spotted Ironhide practically charging into the entrance way of their cave.

The large black mech came to a stop at the sight of them, Novalight had passed out a few hours prior, and was still draped over his back and covered by her thermal blanket.

"Primus." Ironhide got out as he came down into the cave, the light of the day revealing the extent of the damage, and the gaping wound on Qwezel's wing, along with the disfigured surrounding plating, which had seemingly been half melted from the heat of what they were struck with.

The entire left side of the Predacon was charred and peppered with jagged bolt like markings from where the electricity had gone through them.

Qwezel chuckled at the Weapons specialists expression. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, I look like scrap even more now."

That was when Sunstreaker and Sideswipe practically charged over the raised cave entrance, the commotion they made jolting Novalight awake and into falling right off Qwezel's side to land behind him. "Ouf! Gah! What's all that damn racket about?!" She could be heard muttering to herself, a string of curses following after as she pushed herself into a sitting position, at least for the brief moment there was between that and Sideswipe tackling her, followed by Sunstreaker, the three quickly rolling some distance with the momentum before being knocked apart by a rock formation.

With a groan she sat up again, this time managing to get up before the twins again locked her in a tight embrace. "Guys, really?"

Sideswipe was too busy burying his faceplates into the gap between her collar and neckcables, so Sunstreaker spoke, standing between her wings and arms wrapped around her middle. "We were so worried about you." He got out, before pressing his own chiselled features into the back of her neckcables, optics locked on the scar there.

Novalight huffed, squirming to get free and finding herself being trapped tight between the two. "Guys, room, please!" They hadn't realised that she was quite tender still, a good portion of her frame was dented and banged up from when they'd crashed into whatever they'd crashed into, what she couldn't remember, having likely already passed out before they hit the ground.

They just tightened their hold.

At least until Qwezel came to her aid and swept Sideswipe up into the aid by his scruff bar. "Hey!" Was the red mechs indignant cry as he was set back down on the ground, and was quickly silenced by a moderately sized amount of paralytic gunk landing on him, freezing the mech in his tracks.

With one twin no longer caging her, she was able to pry her way free from Sunstreaker, letting off a sigh as her dented form stopped giving her such grief, especially her stinging wings, the appendages were where she assumed she landed, thankfully their sharp edges meant they'd probably just sliced whatever she landed on, but, tender they certainly were.

Her sire was by her side a moment later, checking her over for damage as Ratchet appeared in the gave, going straight to examining Qwezel's injuries. "You alright runt?"

Novalight nodded. "Yeah, the landing left me pretty damn tender…ugh, wings are being a bunch of glitches." She huffed, she turned to look at her forlorn golden mechfriend, moving back over to him and reaching up to wrap her arms around his neckcables, pecking his cheekplate. "It's ok, I ain't mad at you or something for hugging me, you didn't realise."

Sunstreaker frowned, pulling her into a much more careful hug this time. "We still hurt you…"

Novalight couldn't help rolling her optics. "Pfft, please, you were just aggravating some tender spots, I ain't mad, you didn't hurt me, a bit of discomfort at most." She pressed, before worming herself free and moving to where Sideswipe was already recovering from the effects of the lock up, doing his best to stretch out, before reaching out to her, she took his servo, and allowed herself to be pulled into a kiss rife with a remorseful feel to it, she quickly kicked that away by deepening it for a good few moments before pulling away at her sires embarrassed clearing off his vocalisers, and Qwezel's mirthful chuckles, which were quickly cut off by a pained hiss from Ratchet pressing a large needle into his wing and injecting something into the Predacon's system, causing his helm to snap round and shoot the medic an accusing glare. Which Ratchet ignored completely.

The next hour was spent helping Qwezel down onto the long beach which lead to where an old industrial port was handily still in existence, a large aircraft carrier waiting for them to arrive and return them back to Diego Garcia.

They'd been half way there when Novalight's left pede started giving her a good deal of grief, the limb having taken the brunt of the original shock, it had begun shaking when Sunstreaker broke off from helping guide the large Predacon, who'd discovered the gyroscopes in his frame used to control the direction of his individual sections along his back end would need recalibrating, hence he's multiple almost submerges into the crashing waves to their left.

Sunstreaker was quick to heft her up into a bridal carry, much to her irritation and remarks of such, which he ignored, making sure to hold her legs still as he continued to follow the others towards the aircraft carrier, wincing when at one point Novalight was able to get a less then gentle whack in on his helm.

All of them were blissfully unaware of the optics watching them from the thick forest on the cliffs above them though.

They followed the group until they were all boarded onto the aircraft carrier, and the vessel was a mere speck on the horizon.

With a sigh from his vents he rose up, reaching up to touch the collar around his neckcables, feeling the spikes pressed deep into the vulnerable area move with the touch, causing him to wince as a thin trickle of energon ran down the side.

"Someday… I'll find a way to get rid of this…get rid of them…and finally make everything right… I hope."

Pained red optics traced the horizon again, realising they'd passed beyond his visionary range.

That was when his com-link pinged. _"Where are you."_

The grating disjointed voice almost had him snarling. _"Just out, was feeling cramped in my room and needed to stretch my wings."_

 _"_ _Well then, seeing as you've been gone two jours, I'm certain you've stretched those limbs of yours long enough! Now get back to the base, I will not have this project delayed any longer!"_

 _"_ _Of course, why would I ever want to delay such a project? It's not like it doesn't go against every morale code within my processor!"_

 _"_ _Watch that glossa of yours you fool, were it not for your mind, I'd of slain you myself. And I still can, need I remind you?"_ He felt it coming, but that still didn't stop the agonised scream that left him as the spikes lodged deep in him suddenly released a horrific charge of electricity through his systems, leaving him to stumble and fall against a tree, knocking it down with him from the force.

With a groan he pushed himself up, carved to points dentas grating together as he responded. _"…Un…Understood…"_ He cut off the link before he had to listen to that monster any longer.

He reached up and tentatively touched the collar again, running a sharpened digit against the purple insignia etched into the side of the battery box.

"One day… One day I'll kill you all… for what you did to me… my mate… my daughter…"

He began moving to go deeper into the forest, out of the range of the air radar which was employed by the Ports temporary staff.

"I'll kill all of you… Mark my words… when I'm free… I'll show you exactly how much you've forced me to become a monster."

* * *

 **If anyone caught the political symbolism, then good for you, I didn't even notice I'd put it in until the fourth reference and having just come off the news, anyway, like the little peek here? PS: That was Nova's sire!**

 **More on him later, good luck trying to crack this puzzle!**

 **Oh, a little sneak peek of next chapter, because I almost busted a gut at this scene: ("FRAGGIN' PI'! GIVE MAH BIKINI BACK YAH AFT!"**

 **And now, swimwear removal.)**

 **Moon**


	21. Beach shenanigans

**Unintentional hiatus is over! Sorry about this, but Exams + Writers block + Christmas + Life = No time. At all. Oh well, finally got the next chapter done! So, hope you all enjoy! Normal disclaimers are normal.**

* * *

Chapter 21

It took a good month for Ratchet to so much as let Qwezel out of his med bay.

Which was a great testament to the mechs suddenly almost endless saint like patience, seeing as the bases resident Predacon took up a good half of the med bay, and practically like clockwork, accidentally crushed some vital apparatus.

Novalight however, was not so lucky, and had multiple healing dents to the helm to prove it from the seemingly endless amount of times she'd snuck out, only to return with another human device she'd 'borrowed' from somewhere, where they were still trying to work out half the time, and, as it seemed to run in the adopted line, nearly blow a good portion of the already damaged med-bay to literal smithereens.

Thankfully, Ratchet had installed a Fire extinguisher on every surface of said room, to quickly disarm anything that the femme had been trying to work on, after the first attempt to get a broken washing machine going, resulted in a melted table.

A month of this however, finally came to an end with, Optimus, Ironhide, Wheeljack, Prowl, Jazz, Elita-1, Chromia, Arcee, Moonracer and Jolt, all trying to pry said Predacon through the medbay doors, which was proving just as difficult as it was getting him in, even with Novalight hanging from the ceiling trying to help them with the individual segments and where they were catching, as well as whenever his wings instinctually opened up more and ended up banging into the doorway.

It took three hours, but they finally made it outside, everyone involved happily either slumping to the ground, or going to their mate to be held up, whcich was certainly needed for Elita-1, seeing as she'd popped something out of place in her right pede during the whole fiasco.

Ooptimus was more than happy to sweep her off her pedes and into his arms as he turned and headed back to the med bay, leaving the remaining to decide on whatever they felt like doing.

Novalight had already made it to Qwezel's helm, followed quickly by Solardancer, who returned to her now natural position of imitating a Koala on Novalight's back strut. "So, now what?" She enquired.

Novalight hummed to herself, before glancing at her partner. "Well, the twins are off on Patrol… aka, gallivanting through Europe and getting into races with the individual countries police forces… so we won't have to worry about them… but with you grounded Qwezel… well… hmm… not much we can do." She mumbled, before glancing at his left side, where a good portion of the markings from his lightning strike remained, as did the ones on her leg, much to Sunstreaker's irritation.

She liked the markings, so she was keeping them.

But they'd fade with time.

"I got it! How about we repaint ourselves?!" She chirped. "Well, the lightning marks I mean, you know, make them pop or some frag like that." She added at Solardancer and Qwezel's confused looks.

"What, like with glow in the dark paint or something?" Solardancer enquired.

Novalight nodded, patting her left leg. "Yeah! I'm sure with some mixing of colours we could get an awesome lightning effect, like we had literal lightning running down our sides!"

Solardancer and Qwewzel took only a few moments of thought before agreeing, seeing as Solardancer wanted to join in and was more than happy helping Novalight with her painting, seeig as Qwezel was as good as holding a paintbrush as he was at holding anything which wasn't big enough that he couldn't accidentally crush.

So, with their idea set, they had to find the paint.

That took a bit of ingenuity, and Solardancer's recently acquired holoform, which was used to sneak into the Human supply closet.

Once they had all the paint they believed necessary, they came upon their next roadblock.

"So, anyone got any idea how to paint?" Solardancer enquired.

Novalight blanked out, glancing down at herself, after a certain point in her life cycle when she'd gotten bored of being chased and dragged by her aunts to get painted, she'd just taken her armour off, sent it to her aunts, and locked herself away in her room, because she never trusted herself with such a task, the risk of doodling all over her armour was just too high for her.

Qwezel huffed, slumping down onto the beech. "None of us know how to paint… bugger all."

Novalight chuckled, rubbing the back of her helm. "Wel, looks like I'm goinna have tobribe Sunny into helping, maybe a weapon upgrade… or maybe I could try weaponising his alt mode… They both need a but more umph, and their speed gives them a nice boost…" She fell into internal thought after that, rolling back to stare at the small blue clouds passing above, a far cry from the raging cyclone which had come through the month before.

It seemed to be the decided course of action for the trio, as they all moved to sprawl out on the warm sand and just lay there like basking lizards, which wasn't all that hard for Qwezel, who ended up slipping into recharge at some point.

Solardancer and Novalight on the other hand, fell into a light conversation, at least until the conversation dropped into Astrophysics, and the two rolled over to begin etching designs into the sand.

"We're gonna have to go get our ship eventually." Novalight suddenly stated, glancing over at the Starship Solardancer and the rest of the newer arrivals had come in.

Solardancer glanced at her then. "You know, I was wondering about that, it's the one with the engines styled after your own energy drive right? Wheeljack and Flareup where talking about it a few days ago." She said.

Novalight nodded. "Yeah… we parked it on Uranus… it's probably frozen over by now." She responded, shuddering as she recalled how frigid the planet was.

Solardancer snorted. "What? Where did you park it?"

Novalighjt raised an optic ridge at her. "Uranus, and its bloody cold there, hate it, and I'm gonna have to fly all the way back to fly it here, it's no use having it all the way out there getting frozen in ice forever." She huffed.

"Repeat that to me again, what planet? I don't think I've herd of that one before." Solardancer was really trying not to laugh at this point, Novalight had an accent, that she could tell, and it made the whole name of the planet that bit more fun.

"I said Uranus! Farthest planet from the star of this solar system with the exception of Pluto!" Novalight exclaimed.

Solardancer couldn't hold it any more, and ended up rolled up in a ball howling with laughter, and Novalight pushing her top half off the sand to stare at her like she'd just exploded into a mess of confetti.

The volume of the young femmes laughter even jolted Qwezel back to the land of the awake, turning his own helm to them to stare blankly at the sight. "W-what?" He got out.

"Uranus! Your Anus! CLASSIC!" Solardancer got out, leaving Novalight to realise what Solardancer had tricked her into doing.

A moment later she lunged at the femme with a playful roar, she wasn't going to hold it against the femme, The two ended up rolling across the sand, lightly batting at eachother as they laughed, squealed and giggled.

Finally, Novalight managed to get Solardancer in a helm lock, rubbing her fist lightly into the Polyhexian's helmwith a laugh. "You little tyke! Now you'll learn your lesson!" She cheered out as Solardancer continued to laugh, only getting louder when Novaslight's servo found its way to her abdomen and she tried to do that tickling thing she'd seen Mikeala do to Sam a few times.

A few moments later Solardancer was peeling with laughter, gasping to keep her frame cool, signalling Novalight to stop and let the femme go so that she could recover from her laughing fit.

On the runway, Ironhide and Chromia stood, watching from afar the interaction between Novalight and Solardancer. "I think we should." Chromia announced, reaching out to entertwine her servo with her mates. "She needs a family unit."

Ironhide nodded, a warm smile on his faceplates as he watched Solardancer tackle Novalight back, watching as his oldest creation laughed right along, flopping down onto her side and wrapping her arms around the young femme. Qwezel joined in then, having finally fully woken up, he brought his right wing out and hefted them up, laughing as he used his wings mobility to swing them from side to side, his injured left wing still remaining tied to his side by a group of industrial sized conveyor belts, wrapped around the recovering limb and his body.

Ironhide turned his gaze down to Chromia then. "Those three, they're inseparable, aren't they?" He half joked.

Chromia nodded. "Imagine if Bumblebee was here too, and not in the states, one big happy family…" Her expression turned forlorn for a moment, reaching out to her son over the bond, which he was quick to respond with, happily reassuring her that he was fine and resting in the Witwicky Garage with Sam and Mikeala, watching a movie of some sort which was scaring the ever loving slag out of his charge.

The reassurance brought a warm smile to her faceplates. "Let's break the news then."

Ironhide nodded in agreement, and made their way to the trio, the two femmes having now migrated to Qwezel's side where they were leapfrogging each other, Solardancer was having to use Novalight's backstrut as a bit of a spring board to get over fully, but neither of them really fretted over it.

"Nova? Solardancer? Qwezel? Could we have a few moments?" Chromia called, drawing the three's attention.

Novalight was the one to stand up, leaving Solardancer to go clambering back up Qwezel's side to be more on the level of the older couple. "Sure, what do you two need?" Novalight enquired, leaning back till her frame made contact with Qwezel's.

Chromia turned her attention to Solardancer. "We, wanted to offer something to Solardancer… and maybe Qwezel here if you're both ok with it." She added, nodding towards said Predacon, who's interest quickly peaked.

Solardancer nodded, gesturing for them to continue.

The two glanced at each other again before Ironhide spoke. "Well, seeing as you get along so well with our daughter… we were wondering if… you'd like to join the family? Officially." He added, glancing to Qwezel in particular.

Novalight felt her jaw drop, along with Solardancer and Qwezel, as well as the shock coming across from Bumblebee, who'd been listening to the conversation through their sibling bond.

The three didn't seem likely to speak any time soon, so Chromia decided to speak. "Solardancer, we know we may be coming on a bit strong, but, well, neither I or Ironhide can really stand the thought of you going on without a family Unit to support you, you're an incredibly brave femme for all you've done, and all you've gone through, but…" She was cut off when the sunset coloured femme crashed into her middle, arms wrapped around the femmes waist and clinging to her as tightly as she could, faceplates buried into her abdominal armour, a light shake running through her small frame.

"Yes… please…" She whimpered out happily, lubricant rolling down from both optics from the shear joy she'd currently been hit with.

Watching the scene, Novalight turned her attention up to her partner, who was seemingly frozen in place, the slits of his optics still sitting wide in surprise. "What about you big guy?" She called up, a broad smile forming on her features. "Wanna join officially to the nut house?"

It took another few moments for the stunned Predacon to recover. "Why? I'm sorry, but I can't wrap my helm around why you'd want me, a Predacon, and a fully matured one at that, to join your unit?" He finally spoke, features riddled with confusion.

Novalight's adopted creators just gave the colossal mech a broad smile each, Chromia answering. "Well, one, it's hardly fair to only welcome Solar here into our folds, after all you've done for us, well, we think the notion you aren't welcome, is ridiculous." She responded.

He was speechless again, but began moving, nudging Novalight closer to her creators and Solardancer, one they were all together, her pushed himself around them, coiling and doing his best to hug all four with his frame. "Yes… I… I would like to be part of a family again… thank you." He responded. "But… what part of the family do you wish for me to be? Given my age."

They all exchanged a glance before Novalight reached up, grasping hold of one of his tusks and yanking it down along with the rest of his helm. "Crazy big brother of course!" She chirped.

He snorted, but nodded. "Very well then, my whacko little sister." He responded jokingly, flicking his tail around to lightly whack the side of her helm.

Novalight grinned, pushing at his side and clambering out of his hold, and up onto her usual spot. "Well then, seeing as that's all sorted out, mush big bro! You too Solar! It's time for an old family tradition!"

There was a beat of silence as the two new members of their family stared at her, along with their adoptive creators.

Novalight sighed dramatically. "It's time to teach you both how to throw Paint grenades!"

That got an excited whoop from Solardancer, as she practically vaulted herself up and onto Novalight's back strut. "AWESOME! GO BRO! GO!"

Their new sisters excitement filled the rest of them with a sense of joy as Qwezel let off a low rumbling laugh, his form quickly pushing itself across the sandy beach and towards the firing range, which had long since been turned into a psychedelic mess of colours, due to the multiple times Flareup had challenged her niece to one of one paint grenade throwing matches.

No one ever dared ask what the rules were, they just knew not to be anywhere near that part of the base when the two were in that mood.

A few humans had already realised that very same thing, thanks to the times they'd joined the walls of the firing range in their own colour schemes.

Ironhide and Chromia watched them all go with joint chuckles. "I think we made the right choice." He said, to which his mate just hummed in agreement.

* * *

It was a few hours later that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe returned from their patrol, along with Arcee and Wheeljack, the prior of which was still trying to give them a verbal lashing for the cluster of speeding tickets the Twins had ended up with, again.

This however didn't last long however, as a shout from somewhere near the training centre had their attention all turning to the unknown spheres hurtling towards them.

With joint cries, they all tried to duck, but it was no use, as the objects erupted in clouds of powdered colour just before they reached them.

Thus, resulting in them, the humans who'd been coming off the C17 themselves, and the C17 for that matter, ended up a vibrant mess of violet and forest green.

Ergo, the next sound which was picked up by the ISS, was a certain, normally gold Lamborghini's, horrified scream.

From across the beach, by the firing range, Novalight used her repaired goggles to zoom in on the source of the horrified scream, once spotting the source she couldn't help but laugh. "Bullseyes bro!" She cheered, followed by Solardancer, who was perched between her wings once again.

Qwezel chuckled, shaking his helm from side to side. "I wasn't exactly aiming."

"Yeah, but you got all of them! That's a Bullseye in my book!" She chirped back, pushing her goggles back up to sit upon her helm ridge.

Solardancer's helm appeared next to hers then. "Looks to me like Sunstreaker's throwing a fit." She declared, pointing at the colourful ball which was jumping up and down on the tarmac oddly like a Gorilla throwing a temper tantrum.

Novalight nodded, a warmth filling her from across her two new bonds with Solardancer and Qwezel, the later had had a bit of difficulty with trying to get his spark to link with theirs, but he'd been able to manage, and was now more than happily to practically drown the rest of his new family in whatever emotion he was feeling at the time, which so far, had been just a swamp of joy as he'd been experiencing, despite his current land locked predicament. "He's gonna be pouting for the next few days at least until he realises it's powder paint." She chuckled, before turning to look at the firing range, which they were letting dry after using the Island's entire paint supply, that wasn't in Sunstreakers subspace.

Solardancer tapped the side of her helm to get her attention. "I'm bored, can we go work on that oven I found washed up on the beach recently?"

Qwezel answered for them, moving to knock them onto his back before lifting up and begining the short trek to their hanger. "Just don't set fire to the roof again, ok? I don't want to try using a fire extinguisher again." He repressed a shudder at the ghost feeling of all that foam getting caught in his geers and pistons.

Novalight chuckled and nodded. "Uggghhh honestly don't feel like tinkering… how about… going for a swim?" She enquired, a flash of a memory of her time at that Lake party.

There was a few moments of silence as Solardancer and Qwezel thought about the new notion, before nodding agreement. "I don't see why not." Qwezel responded, whilst Solardancer kicked off Novalight's back, the force causing said large femme to faceplant into Qwezel's mane for a moment, not that Solardancer noticed, quickly transforming down into her altmode, a Kawasaki ZX14 motorbike, which was quickly donned by a redheaded teen wearing a frilled onepiece which looked like someone had taken her colours, and just dumped them onto a back canvas. "Ready~!" She cheered, leaping from her seat and breaking into a sprint for the water. "Last one in has to wash Sunstreaker!" She shouted, before leaping from a small sand bank Qwezel had formed with his motions, and cannonballing into the waves ahead.

Novalight and Qwezel shared a single look before they were both scrambling to get to the water first, Novalight leaping from her partner to transform, only to get pushed back towards the landing strip by Qwezel, who's holoform was already making a mad dash for the waves. "CHEATER!" Novalight shouted, activating her own holoform, despite her alt modes current position stuck on an angle into a sand dune.

But, she was too late, and ended up tackling the giant Python, after he'd reached Solardancer, who was more than happily getting mouthfuls of salt water as she laughed at the show her two new siblings had given her.

The two tussled for a while, but with the aid of the water, Novalight found trying to grip the holoform snake, was about as easy as holding a wet bar of cartoon soap.

With a huff, she gave up, and just splashed him and Solardancer in the face with a spray of water.

The next few minutes were spent by her new siblings choosing to playfully taunt her, until with a huff, she dived under the water, quickly swimming away, seeing as Holoforms didn't need to breathe, and didn't need goggles or any of that kind of equipment to see, due to the crystal clear nature of the water, she was able to just contently swim around, going deeper and deeper into the lagoon that Diego Garcia was wrapped around.

The lagoon was teeming with life, mostly shoals of brightly coloured fish littered the equally colourful corals.

It took only a few minutes of exploring caid coral outcrops, that Qwezel caught up with her, followed by Solardancer, who's eyes were wide in awe as she began swimming closer, reaching out to touch a colourful rock, only for Novalight to reach out and grab her hand, turning to silently enquire why the older femme had stopped her, Novalight responded by picking up a pebble, and tossing it with surprising force at the 'colourful rock' watching as the rock, actually a Stingray, shot away after the pebble hit it.

The look Novalight sent the younger femme was enough to tell her she had to be more careful, responding, Solardancer gestured up to the surface, wanting to avoid any more temptation, which was all but surrounding them, including the silhouette of a shark or something of about that size in the distance.

Going back up to the surface was just as easy, as was returning to the shallows, the creatures seeming to want nothing to do with them, most likely due to the fact that Qwezel looked very much like a massive sea snake, which, unlike said mech, had extremely potent venom.

* * *

Once they returned to the shallows, they were surprised to find a group of soldiers had joined them in the waves, and another group where busing themselves with setting up a court of some kind. "You lot got a break?!" Novalight shouted over, catching the closest few humans attentions, who swam over to them.

"Yup, Lennox said it was too hot today, so let most of us off duty to come down here, didn't expect to find you sticking out of the sand though." One answered, whilst gesturing to where Novalight's actually form was still jammed in the sand, and was now being used as a cover from the blistering sun over head.

Novalight huffed and gestured to Qwezel. "He cheated." She responded, she knew, that had his holoform had any limbs, he would of used them to shrug innocently.

The soldier made an 'o' shape with his mouth before speaking again. "So, you know any Earth water sports?"

The two human holoforms shrugged. "Easy enough to look it up online." Solardancer answered. "What did you have in mind?"

The soldier smirked. "Water Polo."

The two femmes look to each other, smirks forming as they looked into what that was.

"Oh, you're so on."

* * *

Qwezel sat contently on the beach just out of the reach of the waves, his holoform disabled so he could focus on being the Water Polo referee, using his right wing as signals for whenever a point was scored.

So far, it was all tied up, five - five, and the timer was quickly running out.

Noalight had joined the blue team, and Solardancer the red, and since then, well, the rule book had long since been used to prop a table up somewhere, and thus, the match had effectively been a massive free for all of dunking, tackling, kicking, grabbing and...

"FRAGGIN' PI'! GIVE MAH BIKINI BACK YAH AFT!"

And now, swimwear removal.

Novalight was quickly performing an impressive impersonation of all the demons of the Pit, whilst also doing her best to keep her modesty, and snatch the item of clothing back from the completely white as a sheet soldier who'd accidentally yanked the piece clean off.

"Err, Nova? You ok?" Solardancer called.

"NO! HE TOO' AWAY MAH CHANCE OF CA'CHING THA BALL WITHOU' FLASHIN' MAH CHASSIS TAH THA EN'IRE ISLAND!" She was practically roaring at this point, storming across the submerged sand to the human, who was quickly stepping backwards away, the piece of swimsuit still held outstretched, but out of reach of the fuming holoform.

She would have continued to catch up, fully intending to use her unoccupied arm to beat the ever living shit out of the man, whilst the other was wrapped as tight as a certain winged snake around her chest, trying to hide the modest mounds from view.

That is, until two arms wrapped around her from behind and pulled her back against a solid chest. "Now why would you want to put that on Nove? It'll stop me from enjoying the view~." The crimson red headed holoform purred into her left ear, which had the nice detail of two small diamond studs, as did her other ear, which were then promptly given a light tug between two sets of pearly white teeth.

Cue Novalight then spinning, and decking him square across the face, leaving the surrounding men, women, mechs, and femmes to wince from the sound of the impact.

"NO' NOW SIDES!"

"But Sweetspark!~ You look so _hot_!"

"I'LL LOO' EVEN HOTT'R WHEN AH PULL SPITTER ON YOUR AF' AND MEL' YAH PAIN' OFF! YAH RAGIN' PERVERT!"

"Since when did you have a Polyhexian accent anyway?!"

"I' ONLY COME' OU' REALLY WHEN AH'M PISSED AND HOLLERIN'!"

"...Fair enough. Ok, sweetspark, I'm sorry, look! The human dropped your weird band thing!"

Huffing, Novalight turned, glaring at the dust cloud in the distance before she knelt down, a shadow quickly appeared over her, as Qwezel slithered up to her side, dropping his right wing down to act as a large shield to keep her out of sight, his own head raised to stare at the puffy white clouds passing overhead as Novalight quickly put the piece back on. "Thanks Qwez." He responded by lifting his wing back into his normal position at his side, his left wing still held tightly to his side by the belts.

When Novalight focused back on her mechfriend, he was already upright, and lightly cradling his jaw. "Oh jeez, I… sorry I punched you… where's Sunstreaker?" She then asked, taking note of the lack of a certain gold mech.

Sideswipe smirked, gesturing to his holoform, which as a direct representation, clearly showed the mass of powder paint still covering him and clogging up his red hair. "Cleaning all of this off of course, and being a complete nag about it, nice toss by the way Nove, you're swings getting better!" He chirped.

Novalight responded with a nervous chuckle. "Actually, that was all Qwezel."

Sideswipe gave the Predacon a confused look, before Qwezel elaborated by making a batting motion with his tail, watching as the weaponised end clacked about as the armour pieces connected with the motion. "Ah… cool… well, great aim there big guy!" He declared.

Qwezel nodded. "Thank you, all though, I believe my aim requires a good deal of work." He responded, glancing over at where the C17 was still being cleaned.

Sideswipe chuckled, his holoform moving over to Novalight and wrapping a bare arm over her shoulders, alerting her at last to the fact that he was in a pair of red with silver trim swimming trunks. "So, back to the water?" He asked.

Qwezel glanced between the two. "I'll go back to refereeing the match, their equal because that soldier was on Solar's side." He announced, moving to return back to his spot in front of the floating court so that he could return to his task.

But, the large Predacon glanced back at his new sister. "Oh, and, seeing as you lost our little race… I think Sunstreaker's waiting for you~."

Novalight felt her holoform eye twitch. "I only lost because you cheated!"

"All fair in love, war, and family!" He called back.

Huffing Novalight chose she'd just run with it, grabbing Sideswipe's holoform hand and dragging him over to where her alt mode was still lodged in the sand, looking like she'd crashed there.

"Err, what was that all about?"

"I lost a race, now I have to wash Sunny."

Sideswipe felt his jaw drop. "What were you racing?! Light?!"

"No! Qwezel and Solar! But the big galute cheated and whacked me back up the beach!"

"Ah…" He pulled her back so that he could wrap his arms around her middle again from behind. "Well, you're still my speed demon." He announced, resting his chin on her shoulder.

Novalight froze in place, before sagging into his hold. "I… I'm just getting used to the feeling of losing at the one thing I do best…"

"What about your skills in creating explosions?"

"That's not a competitive activity."

"Hmm, Flareup may have something to say about that, but, alright… so… we going to go find my sulking twin? Or…" He trailed off so that he could press a quick kiss to the nape of her neck.

"Sides…"

"Ok, got it, we ain't at that stage yet, got it." He mumbled, moving back to her side, but keeping one arm around her bare middle as they continued to where their alt modes both sat.

"I'm sorry Sides, I, know you want our relationship to go further, but I don't feel like I'm ready for that yet." Novalight tried to apologise, ducking her head to hide her holoforms eyes behind the purple tinted blonde bangs of her pixie cut hair.

"Hey, hey, I ain't mad, neither's Sunny, we know you're still getting used to all this." He responded, coming to a stop again. "We're more than happy to wait for you to adjust to all of this." He tried to reassure, leaning over the press his face into her short locks and taking a deep breath, motoroil, smoke, metal, which was a given and the new addition of a hint of spice.

"Sides." She chuckled weakly, leaning into his hold a bit more. "Stop being a sap, I can tell you're getting impatient. You've certainly upped your flirting with me."

He smirked in her hair. "There something wrong with expressing my appreciation for your curves?"

" _Siiiidddddeeees!_ Stop it!" she laughed out, swatting away the hand which had drifted down to her rear. "You know the rules, not indecent touching in public! Or Prowl will toss you in the brig again!"

Sideswipe just pouted. "Damn fragger, I swear he has a pole lodged up that aft of his." He grumbled.

Novalight shrugged. "Well, you'll just have to deal with it, Sunny still in the wash racks?"

Sideswipe nodded. "Yup, told him it was Qwezel, not you, so he's fine with you coming to help." He responded.

Novalight nodded, dropping her holoform as her alt mode broke apart and reformed into her bipedal, the shift causing her to shudder as a good deal of sand got lodged between her plates because of her transformation. "Ugh… that feels so wrong." She huffed, trying to shake as much of it loose as possible.

Sideswipe just chuckled. "Well, now we both have another reason to go to the wash racks!" He declared, looking absolutely ridiculous as he shook his wheeled pedes out, mimicking those russian dancers she'd seen a few memes of.

Pinching her olfactory ridge, she tried to hide in the snickers which the thought caused, all they needed was a fluffy black hat, a hammer, and a sickle, and her mechfriend would look like a full on Stereotypical Russian Dancer!

Sideswipe smirked, completely out of the loop as to why his femmefriend was laughing, but he continued to try and shake his pedes out, even when all the sand was mostly gone from said limbs.

Novalight ended up howling with laughter, internally wondering when they were actually going to reach the wash racks, at this rate, after the war had long since been left to the history data pads!

* * *

 **And there we go! Yes, Nova has Polyhexian in her energon. now then, hopefully the next chapter will be available sooner, the second part of it and then on was a blast for me, got it done in the last two days.**

 **Oh well, until next time then! (Sorry if there were any mistakes) ¡Adiós!**

 **Moon (Before anyone asks, I'm not Spanish, my sibling just uses me as a training dummy for their Spanish lessons)**


	22. A sudden 'explosive' turn of events

**I am so sorry about the delay! I had this entire chapter written up, six thousand words too! But then, when I went on to start writing Chapter 23, I made a horrible discovery, Chapter 22's save was botched! I only had the very first bit of this chapter left! And I'd had so much fun making it the first time.**

 **As a result, I had to rewrite a massive chunk of this, and I made the decision to cut this chapter actually in two, because the change in tone was quite dramatic. So, only 3,000 + words chapter this time, sorry, I'll do my best to replicate the second half of this chapter.**

 **Oh, also, quick announcement, for anyone who's read my story, The Birds of Prey, I and my friends who helped me with it, have decided to re-write it, massive changes have been made, but, we're hopeful, just wanted to get that out that I won't be updating Birds anymore, not that I have in ages because the muse died.**

 **I've held your attention long enough, Nova, Qwez and Solar belong to me, everyone else belongs to Hasbro.**

* * *

Chapter 22

"Oh Sunny! We have arrived!" Sideswipe shouted, throwing the washracks door open, his arm wrapped around Novalight's middle.

Sunstreaker looked up from where he was furiously scrubbing at his plating, which, outside of the few covering his modesty, were all resting on a bench next to him, already polished and gleaming, or coated in the purple and green powder paint Qwezel had gotten him and Sideswipe with.

"It's about time, what took you so long?" He huffed, before spotting the bite marks scattered across Novalight's neckcables and what of her protoform her wide collar didn't cover. "You impatient fragger." He growled at his twin, causing said mech to just give him a slag eating grin, and Novalight to duck her helm in embarrassment, reaching up in a feeble attempt to cover the marks Sideswipe had been oh so eager to give her with seemingly every over step towards the washracks.

"What can I say Sunny? Seeing our femme in such a skimpy outfit… did things to me~" He purred, actually purred the last part, leaning in to Novalight's personal space so as to act like it was a dirty little secret.

She responded by pushing her servo into his faceplates and in turn pushing him away. "Oh shut up! I like it! And it covers more than those G-strings I saw some females wearing back at that Lake party I met Mikeala at! Those were hideous!"

Sideswipe chuckled into her servo, reaching up to pull her once again flush against his front. "But Nove~. You look so good in so little~." He continued to purr. "In fact, seeing as you've still got so much sand lodged in your platting, how about dropping that armour?" He enquired, his free servo moving to rest on her hipplates.

She felt her faceplates flush horribly with energon, and quickly checked to make sure that all of her bonds were closed tight, she did not want anybot getting the wrong idea.

Or seeing what was left of her half melted processor.

"Sides… You're a fragging pervert." She got out, somehow managing to break free from his grip and move towards the row of showers, doing her best to stay upright, when all she wanted to do was dive under a bench and try and calm down her faceplates, which felt like they were about to melt off.

She jolted when a servo came down on her shoulderplate finding it was Sunstreaker who was now holding her steady. "Easy there, the floors pretty slippery from all the paint." He warned, glancing at where her clawed pedes instinctively clamped tighter down on the tiles.

She nodded in appreciation, before focusing on removing her own plating, and trying to her best to ignore the state of undress her two mech friends were already at, seeing as Sideswipe had just unceremoniously dumped all of his on the floor halfway over, the few which remained being the group which wrapped around his… most intimate area.

She almost had her processor crash from that thought.

Primus, she never realised how green she was before all of this, ironically, it was the twins currently bearing said colours along with a good dashing or purple and orange.

Sideswipe leaned over once her armour had been removed, leaving only the second layer she had over her chassis, a band really to protect her spark, a set she couldn't easily reach which ran down between her wings, and were a serious pain to put back on, and the group around her hipplates she outright refused to consider the notion of removing.

"So, you gonna help Sunny there? You did lose that race~."

"Sides, I am more than tempted right now to slam that handsome face of yours through this wall. Do not tempt me further." She warned, demeanour shifting to that of a cornered animal for a brief moment.

Said threatened mech wisely stepped back under the spray of his own shower head, smirking to himself as he began scrubbing himself down.

"You… lost a race? Sides, what reality have you two switched my brother and femme friend from?" Sunstreaker enquired, looking between the two like they could turn into giant, two helmed frame snatchers.

Sideswipe snorted from where he stood. "Oh please, Qwezel cheated and Nova ended up stuck in a sand dune."

Novalight nodded, picking up her thruster guard, showing off the amount of sand she could pour out from the gaps. "Bloody fragger." She grumbled. "Solar shouted that the last one in the water had to wash you, Sunny, and next thing I know, Qwez's whacked me away and I'm stuck in a sand dune. That's how I lost." She huffed.

Sunstreaker chuckled. "Well then, mind helping me then? But, be careful, with those claws, I don't want scratches." He warned.

Rolling her optics she obliged, grabbing up his sponge and getting herself mentally ready for her task.

"If either of you try anything, I have fifteen weapons primed that only need the safety taken off. And you both know how little time I need to remedy that."

"Love you too sweetspark!~" Sideswipe laughed, happily scrubbing himself down.

She couldn't help the smile which formed on her lipplates. "Yeah, I know, you idiot… Oh, Qwezel and Solardancer are my new adopted siblings."

"What?! When did that happen?! We have that hyper fem as a sister in bond now?!"

"We're gonna have a Predacon for a future brother in bond?!"

"Hey! No jumping to conclusions you two! AND WHO THE FRAG SAID WE'RE BONDED?!"

She couldn't help the laugh which came from their reactions as they realised what they'd declared, though the blush which now burned over her features likely had a greater tanning effect than the Sun.

* * *

Five weeks later, California

"Big brother!" Solardancer shouted, tackling Bumblebee as he rose from his alt mode to great them, resulting in the both of them tumbling back, almost crushing Sam and Mikeala had Novalight not managed to grab them both on time.

"Hey! Fragile organics here!" Novalight shouted, holding the two humans high above her own helm, the two gave her and the two humans bashful looks, for about three seconds, before they went back to tumbling across the flat area in a play fight.

Qwezel sidled up next to her, sticking low to the ground to avoid being spotted over the cliff's edge they were on. "They're gonna be picking that up on the seismographs." He joked, watching as the two hit the ground again, causing the ground to shake beneath the six.

Novalight chuckled. "It would be a nice aftershock for that landing of yours." She responded, setting the two humans down as her brother let off a grumble under his vents.

Mikeala chuckled, having moved to lean up against her guardian's pede. "Good to see that lightning strike didn't fry your humour." She stated, patting the metal she was leaning against, which still bore the telltale marks of the strike.

Novalight nodded with a proud smirk, shooing her charge back a bit so that she could shift into her alt mode and turn on her holoform, which she then used to trap Mikeala in a tight hug with, even lifting the human off the ground for a moment so she could give her a quick spin, elating a burst of laughter from both of them. Once the holoform was secure, Novalight shifted back into her bipedal form.

As that went on, Bumblebee and Solardancer sat back up, both of them chuckling, Bumblebee through the radio.

"So… how's the husbands?" Sam called up, a joking tone in his voice.

Novalight huffed, crossing her arms over her chassis, and chest. "They are not my husbands… but, they've been behaving… mostly… Sides is getting a bit too into biting me. Sunny keeps trying to drag me off to secluded places, then Sides drags me right back into the more public areas, and then I just take off and hover out of their reach for a good hour before they stop…" Qwezel's helm coming down on her cut her off, the sudden weight forcing her to focus on rebalancing as the Predacon shifted, his massive bulk coiling around her, and that of the others present and thus creating an almost barrier to the rest of the world, before letting off a drowsy yawn and nuzzling the side of his jaw against her helm.

"Mmmm carrying all of your heavy afts, made me sleepy… I designate you my pillow." He mumbled out, before dropping the full weight of his massive serpentine helm onto her back between her wings.

With a startled cry, Novalight found herself sprawled out on her front, pinned to the ground by her big brother, and Mikeala at her side poking one of the Predacons distorted horns.

Solardancer, Bumblebee and Sam, chose the best thing to do, was nearly fall over from laughter.

At least, until said Predacon's tail lashed round and banged both Cybertronians round the helms, causing their human associate to duck down with a shout at the ringing clangs of metal on metal.

"Mmmff, shut up… tryina recharge…"

Mikeala moved to sit in front of Novalight, whom remained stuck spread eagle on the terra ferma. "So… how long does he normally sleep for?"

Novalight's helm craned up to stare at her charge. "Hours… fragging hours…"

Bumblebee chuckled. 'Ready… for the… long haul?'

"Ah shut up… Qwez' fat aft is bad enough."

"Pft... don hav a aft."

* * *

It took three hours for Qwezel to roll over in his recharged enough for the seeker to squirm free. "Freedom! Sweet freedom!" She cried, but remained limp on the ground once she'd managed to get clear of the Predacons potential roll over range. "And I can't feel my frame… can… can someone roll me over? I can't feel anything below my shoulderplates."

A snicker came from her still conscious siblings, Bumblebee taking mercy on her after leaving Novalight to flail for just over a minute, which was more than enough time for Solardancer to record huffed, glaring at the blades of grass which poked at her metal faceplates and brushed against the glass of her optics, making them twitch in reflex.

Thankfully, Bumblebee seemed to give her mercy, lifting her up and settling her numb frame down against a pile of logs that Solardancer was pushed into making, the duo not wanting to aggravate the seekers wings by just dropping her on the floor.

Mikeala quickly joined her guardian, clambering up a few logs and up from there onto the seekers shoulder plating. "So… I spy?" She offered.

Novalight shrugged, glancing around before focusing on her clawed pedes, able to get them to twitch slightly on command. "Don't see why not, ok, who wants to go first?"

Solardancer shot her arm up into the air. "Me! Me! Me!" She chirped, bouncing on her pedes.

Novalight and Mikeala exchanged an amused look and mutual shrug before Mikeala answered. "Go ahead Solar."

* * *

The next two hours went as such, although after the first hour, Sam gave up trying, having not been naturally gifted with a zoom function in his eyes like the Cybertronians, nor had access to the internet via their minds so that they could use the impossible to remember latin names of the hordes of different insects just within reach of Novalight's right pede, which, along with the rest of her frame, had recovered from its temporary numbness.

Not that Novalight really did anything other than just continue to lay there.

Also, Qwezel had rolled over and dropped his helm into her lap, trapping her in place once again, lower jaw hanging open towards the sky, his irregular horns and now foliage filled mane spilling out all around her, the horns especially were currently lodged into the ground.

It was Solardancer's turn again, the sunset coloured femme was craning her neckcables and helm around, trying to spot something new, her and Novalight were actually now the only ones playing, Bumblebee having joined their older brother in Recharge and their human charges were content with just snuggling up on the blanket Bumblebee had pulled from his subspace an hour ago.

Everything was peaceful for once, or at least, it had been.

"I spy… with my fully functioning… optic… a… human… female…" Solardancer trailed off, optics locked on something further down the cliff edge to the groups left.

Novalight snorted. "Mikeala, easy, try a little harder next time." She didn't even open her optics back up from when she'd closed them, content to lounge where she was, arms behind her helm to hold it in place so that she got a good view of the clouds if she wished to un-shutter her optics.

"N-no… seriously, Nova, there's a human… she's staring at us all flighty like…" Solardancer pressed, leaning down to push at her older sister to spur her into motion and see what she was.

Grumbling about her almost nap being interupted, Novalight pushed herself off, turning to peer over Qwezel's massive bulk, which had coiled around the group over time to create a pseudo barrier around them from the outside world.

It took only a moment for her to spot the human standing at most thirty metres away, a basket clutched close to their chest, a female from what she could see beyond the tangled mess of unkempt black hair and the too large for her and torn clothing which covered her body.

"Oh scrap…" Novalight mumbled, optics widening as she shoved Qwezel's helm off her lap so she could clamber over him, the sound of the Predacon's large helm hitting the ground hover, was not ignored by the woman.

Who, understandably, let off a horrified scream, dropping the basket in the process, and bolting back for the tree line.

"Scrap!" Solardancer shouted, vaulting over Qwezel's body, kicking him awake in the process and darting after the woman, quickly followed by Novalight once she'd slammed her fist in Bumblebee's helm to wake him up and get him going.

The two brothers let off joint shouts of pain and contempt at being awoken, but, at the sight of their sisters disapearing into the woods with shouts towards a woman running ahead of them, the mechs decided in the blink of an optic to forgive their sisters for the time being, and join in the sudden chase, completely clueless as to what was going on.

This sudden explosion of motion from the Cybertronians and Predacons was not ignored by their human charges, who suddenly found themselves without their friends as the four disappeared into the woods, Qwezel especially shaking the ground as usual with his rushed departure in an attempt to keep up with his siblings, the race currently being tied between Solardancer, and Novalight, whom was quickly overtaking with her longer strides.

Sam and Mikeala both sat up from their previous laying position, glancing to each other before glancing towards the basket the woman had dropped, which now had strange, yet worryingly familiar sounds coming from it.

Mikeala rose first, as Sam remained frozen, eyes locked on the basket and overflowing with confusion and a hint of fear.

"God… Mikeala… don't tell me…"

He was cut off by the sudden deafening explosion which rocked the forest, the shockwave knocking back the two humans and sending them both fully to the ground where they lay for a moment.

The terrified screaming coming from the basket only added to the deafening sounds which surrounded them as trees toppled and burned.

* * *

Within the forest, Novalight groaned, Qwezel already at her side and pushing her up from where her frame had been flung against a large boulder.

"What…" Solardancer mumbled, trying to shake her helm free of the buzz which was ringing through her processor. "Was that?" She hissed, glancing down at herself and wincing at the sight of a few severed lines in her pede which she quickly covered with her servo to try and stem some of the energon loss. "Fraggit that hurts."

Qwezel glanced around with his bilateral vision as he helped support the seeker femme into an upright position, letting her lean against his rounded triangular maw before he started to speak. "It would seem, our target has passed on." He announced, gesturing with his bladed tail to where burning ribbons of clothing fluttered through the air, surrounding which was left of the woman's body, now scattered across a good chunk of equally singed and burning forest.

Novalight nodded, patting the side of her older brothers helm as she did her best to step forwards, albeit still a bit unstable from the blast, and the fact, that once again, her wings had taken a nasty beating being the first contact points of her frame with that boulder. "That's obvious Qwez… but what I want to know, is how and why in the name of the Pits, she just exploded like that?!" She exclaimed, leaning down and picking up what was left of the woman's leg, which still twitched a bit in her grasp.

She could hear Solardancer wretching behind her as she continued to prod at the splattered remains.

Bumblebee joined her then, letting off a distressed whirr as he looked around his, older, yet smaller sister. 'That... That ain't right man." His radio stuttered with a Texas Drawl.

Novalight just snorted. "What's new?" She muttered, crouching down now to investingate a metalic shine she'd spotted wrapped and twisted around part of a fallen trees branch, which had been almost severed by the metal as it had become imbedded there.

Lipplates quirking into a frown she reached down and took it between two clawed digits, and, with a few insistent tugs, freed it, and the fried wires and cabling which came attached.

Turning it around, she felt her spark drop into her Hydra Drive.

Glaring back at her, with paint peeled and scorched, but sharp grooves of indented lines, was the Decepticon insignia.

"Oh… scrap." Novalight hissed, getting an agreeing chirr from Bumblebee as Solardancer joined her on her other side, and Qwezel managed to peer over all three.

The Predacon was first to speak. "We have to alert Optimus."

Solardancer let off a distressed chuckled. "How about fragging everyone…"

Novalight glanced around at the surrounding area. "No way is this gonna go unnoticed, c'mon, we need to go get Sam and Mikeala, then get our afts outta here." She announced, still holding the womans leg, it was actually the only piece which was really recogniseable, the rest a charred mess.

Glancing at the leg again as they went to leave, she noticed something off about the leg, no shoe, no sock.

Instead, a large metal clamp, and a broken chain.

There was something seriously wrong going on, the question though, was, what?

What were the Decepticons planning now?

* * *

When they returned to the cliffside, they found the two humans sitting huddled together next to the basket on their knees, a bundle of squirming blankets in Mikeala's arms.

The two glanced up to see their singed guardians returned. "What was that explosion from?" Sam asked, they had expected him to sound scared, jumpy and stuttery like he normally did in high stress situations, but now, he sounded as hollow as much as he looked numb.

Novalight lifted the womans leg into view. "She exploded when I was in within reaching distance…"

"She exploded!?" Mikeala exclaimed, her voice the one that held the terror, her eyes wide as she stared and the fire singed and blood soaked limb. "Oh god…" She looked to the squirming blankets. "Oh god…"

Novalight took a step closer, extending her arm out which held the limb, towards Solardancer, she didn't even bother to check if her little sister caught it, but the sound of it thumping against the ground proved that her little sister had no intention of touching the severed limb. "Mikeala? What are you holding?"

Mikeala flinched for a moment, before pulling the top blanket back a bit. "It… I think… It's…" She mumbled.

But whatever she may of said next fell on deaf audios.

As bright crystal blue optics locked on the pale cream skin of a little head, topped with wiry black, and bright red optics stared back.

* * *

 **Cliffhanger! The other reason I cut this chapter in two!**

 **Next chapter. "SAM! YOU CHEATED ON MIKEALA?!"**

 **"I AIN'T THE FATHER!"**

 **Until next time!**

 **Moon**


	23. Greenhorn parenting

**I might have to change the maturity rating for this story for this chapter... nothing explicit! Just... a lot of hinting at potential future events and Nova being as green as a leaf, and very... awkward questions, in other words, Nova's gonna be going very, very red. Nova, everyone, I'm so sorry what I did this chapter, and yet, at the same time, I'm not sorry at all.**

 **Oh bit of news, I created an Archive of your own account when I realised that you can put pictures there with the text, I'm considering posting Stealth over there as well, and adding a few pictures here and there in future chapters. That sound good?**

 **Now then, enough prattle from me, on with the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 23

The dead silence which followed until the group had managed to return to the Witwicky's residence, the deceased womans leg stored in a large plastic bag Bumblebee had left over in his subspace from the last time he took Sam and Mikeala shopping.

Even the infant was silent, content and asleep in Mikeala's arms.

Novalight had barely had the sense to transform into her alt mode when she paced right off the cliff.

Qwezel, who'd been blindly following in a stupor, barely stopped in time, shaking his helm from side to side to clear his thoughts as he regarded his sister just hovering in mid air, jets pointed downwards and barely giving enough thrust to keep her in one place, all whilst she continued to pace on thin air until she realised her predicament and shifted into her alt mode.

Thankfully, Bumblebee had seen enough sense to organise the trip to the Witwicky's, managing to get Novalight to hop onto Qwezel so that she could share her cloak with him, whilst he and Solardancer would drive back, Mikeala and the infant with Solardancer, and Sam trying not to freak out even more about the leg currently stashed in the back seat of his guardian, which he failed miserably at.

When Judy opened the front door to find Mikeala cradling a sleeping baby, Sam holding a Walmart bag with a severed leg in it, Novalight, Bumblebee and Solardancer's blood splattered holoforms and ghostly white complexions, with Qwezel draped around Novalight's hips and shoulders. The woman's mind took off.

The first thing out the woman's mouth was quite a bit out of the range the group had been expecting however.

"RON! WE'RE GRANDPARENTS!"

That, snapped everyone out of it, Solardancer's holoform even banging her head on a hanging plant pot she was so thrown by it.

" _WHAT_?!" Sam exclaimed.

By some miracle, the baby slept through the shouts, which were quickly cut off by Novalight and Bumblebees holoforms shoving everyone into the house.

The front yard was no place for this discussion, especially with the fact some of the neighbours seemed to be growing curious.

The next hour was spent trying, and for the most part, failing, to explain what had happened which had resulted in a dead woman's leg being stashed in one of the kitchen's cupboards, a baby in Mikeala's arms, Cybertronian's holoform being covered in blood, and why the news was being very focused on the explosion just outside of Tranquility.

By the second hour of trying to explain the situation, things were starting to make sense to Sam's parents. At some point during this, Solardancer chose to excuse herself and call up Diego Garcia, give a brief explanation as she could, and then promptly hung up on them, not wanting to get asked questions she hadn't the foggiest idea how to answer.

"So… let's just get this straight… you were all up on a cliff relaxing?" Ron said.

Sam nodded frantically. "Yes! Exactly!"

"Then a lady appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, with a basket." Judy then followed up, the baby now being held by her, a bottle Novalight had gone and bought from a nearby Seven Eleven, in hand being offered the surprisingly calm infant, who was happily drinking away at the formula milk Novalight had then had to go back out to get after forgetting it the first time.

Mikeala nodded. "Yeah, Solar spotted her, then, she bolted."

Novalight chose to take over then. "So, we gave chase... Lot of good that did us, I was just about to snatch her up yeah, when, BOOM! Blood smoothie. We found a piece of twisted metal too… with the Decepticon insignia, whatever tech it was made of is completely shot too I should add, I don't think even if myself, Wheeljack, and Flareup banged out helms together on this one, we'd crack it." She was mumbling by the end, said device was currently in her subspace. In her alt mode, parked on the roof.

Judy opened her mouth to speak, when the phone rang, jolting the entire group.

This, apparently, was also enough to elate a very distressed cry from the infant in Mikeala's arms.

Panic quickly erupted as Judy rushed for the phone, hoping that it was just some cold caller, Mikeala, in her panic, almost dropped the infant, had Novalight not reacting in the space of a heartbeat to sweep the infant into her own arms, trying to the calm the infant with unintelligible noises, gentle bouncing and a hand rubbing the infant's back.

Such action also resulted in Qwezel losing his support which the back of the sofa had been giving him, leaving the holoform Python to fall back and hang down Novalight like a Chimera's tail.

Once the infant had ceased their whimpering, Judy could be heard having a very animated conversation, the words blurred with the speed she was managing to get them out.

Then, the call ended, and a suddenly much more exasperated Judy walked back over and slumped down into the sofa next to her husband, a worried look in her eyes. "Poppy is coming… She heard the baby..."

A chill went down the two human males at the implication.

Sam gulped. "Aunty Poppy's already on her way?"

Judy nodded, turning her gaze towards the group of confused aliens. "My sister… has made the same assumption we did, she thinks that Sam's a father and is now rushing to see her niece/nephew… speaking of which, what gender is the little tyke?" She enquired.

Novalight turned her gaze down to the mumbling infant, pulling the blanket up just enough to peer inside to check, before promptly pulling it back down. "Female, it's a little girl…"

Sam turned his gaze to his mother then, then to Mikeala, whom was trying to adjust to everything herself, and then right back to his mother. "I ain't the father!"

Judy shrugged. "Then we better come up with a suitible replacement parent… Nova… seeeing as you… well, you're in a relationship…"

Novalight was quick to understand what the woman was implying, and promptly paled. "You want me… to lie to your sister, and tell her that this little one… is mine and the Twins?! We're nowhere near… Mikeala! What did you call it? Third place?"

"Base, third base Nova… Solar here's too young for kids, and Judy… no offence but." Mikeala corrected, already seeing where this conversation was probably going to end up.

"Oh darling it's ok, I hit my menopause a few years back… that leaves you as the only potential cover mother Nova…"

Novalight glanced to Bumblebee, whom just responded with a hapless shrug, having about as much of a clue about the situation as she did, Solardancer did the same, and Qwezel too, had he had shoulders to shrug as he hefted himself back up and slithered back onto the sofa.

With a sigh, Novalight relented, and slumped down into the only free space currently available between Bumblebee and Qwezel, Solardancer having taken to sitting on the back of the sofa instead of a normal person. "I'll call the twins… hopefully they understand…"

Solardancer pipped up then. "Well, they'll be here in three hours, how long till this Poppy lady gets here?"

Judy glanced at her watch. "Two and a half… And that's if traffic's bad."

"Isn't LA traffic always bad? She lives in downtown Hollywood after all."

"This is my _sister_ we are talking about here, if she had a tank, fucking hell she'd be here quicker."

Novalight chose to get up, carefully passing the still unnamed infant to her little brother, who tried his best to cradle the infant, Mikeala to his own left helping him hold the infant stable.

She made her way to the den, and without much more delay, although with a bit of hesitance, sent a comm request to the twins.

Sideswipe, as expected, picked up after only the first dial tone, Sunstreaker joining a few tones later.

" _HEYO SWEETSPARK!"_ Sideswipe practically sung over the link.

" _What's happened? We're moving as fast as this C-17 can take us... Which isn't exactly much."_ Sunstreaker then announced.

" _Well… we got a phone call from Judy's sister Poppy, apparently she heard the infant crying, and now has it in her head that Sam's the father…"_

A snort came from over the line. " _Given how much that fleshy oggles Mikeala, I'm hardly surprised a relative would jump to that conclusion."_ Sunstreaker remarked.

Sideswipe just made a noise of agreement as one of Novalight's eyebrows hitched up.

" _Says the horny fraggers who can hardly keep their servos to themselves on a good day."_

" _Sweetspark! Don't be like that! Yah just too much of a perfect package not to want to unwrap you~!"_

" _SIDES!"_

" _I'm being honest!"_

" _Sometimes I wonder how we come from the same spark…"_

Novalight allowed herself an exasperated sigh. " _We're off topic here… everyone ganged up on me… and I gotta say I'm the tykes mother instead… take the heat of Sam and Mikeala for having a kid before college I guess."_

" _Nove… I'm not sure if I'm following you right… "_

" _I need you, one of you preferably, to pretend to be the tykes father, with the other playing the roll of uncle…"_

There was a long, pregnant pause then.

" _And why, can't we both be the father's?"_ Sunstreaker huffed.

She'd honestly expected Sideswipe to say that, but the urge to bang her head through a wall at that response remained unaffected.

"Yeah! Why can't we both say we bent you over a table and got a sparkling out of it?!"

" _ **SIDESWIPE! DO YOU HAVE NO SHAME?!"**_ She was suddenly feeling very light in the helm.

A resounding clang rang out across the link, proving they were in their Bipedal forms as Sunstreaker whack some part of his twin, earning a kicked puppy whine from the red mech.

Novalight quickly picked up a pillow, imitating a few scenes in movies she'd watched with Mikeala and Solardancer, and promptly screamed into the pillow with all her holoform lungs could muster.

" _Way to go you idiot."_ Sunstreaker growled.

" _Whhhhaaaaatttttt? It's an honest question!"_

" _We aren't at that stage yet!"_ Sunstreaker rebuked.

Novalight tossed the pillow back to it's previous place and instead rubbed at her temples, she'd picked up that little gesture from that Human, William Lennox, he did it whenever one of her projects backfired. " _Guys… please… it's literally just until this Poppy lady is gone, or we can get away and back to base with this kid… and the ladies leg."_

" _That really is all that's left of the squishy?"_

" _Yes Sunny… ugh… I still need to wash all this sutff out… I'm starting to smell of dead corpse…"_

She heard Sunstreaker dry heave.

" _Sides… I am not gonna try and steal her away if yah want to kiss her."_

" _AWESOME!"_

" _Sides… I smell like a smoldering body… it ain't pleasant… I'm surprised Ron and Judy haven't demanded we all go and clean ourselves yet… hell, Sam and Mikeala barely noticed… maybe humans really are practically smell blind…"_

" _Ah… damn… can I still have yah to myself once you've cleaned up?"_

" _Frag no, you gotta share when she's clean."_

" _Sideswipe. Sunstreaker… I am still very much present in this call, STOP FRAGGING FIGHTING OVER ME LIKE I'M A HUNK OF MEAT!"_

" _...Yes sweetspark…"_

" _Sorry babe… it's just... "_

" _Save it, just… get here as quickly as possible without breaking every road law in the book."_

" _No promises! Sunny! First to make it to the Witwicky's get's a go with Nova first! For an hour! No interruptions!"_

" _Oh you are so fragging on."_

Another facepalm, then her head banging repeatedly into the armrest of the sofa she'd moved to sit in in the den.

" _Can I have a say in this?"_

They'd both already left the call.

She was putting her cloak on and heading for the stratosphere for a month when they got back to Diego Garcia, just to spite them.

Glancing up, she jolted upon the realisation that she was being watched by Mikeala, whom, had at some point followed her into the den.

Without a word, the human set down next to her guardian. "The twins."

Novalight pinched the bridge of her nose, another habit she'd picked up from the bereaved humans on the NEST base. "They're… difficult to handle… they want to take us to the next stage… but… I don't feel ready… you know, for that kind of…"

"Commitment?

Novalight nodded, leaning over to drop her holoform head onto her charge's shoulder, staring at the painting of a valley landscape which hung on the opposite wall to where they were sitting

"I guess I feel the same… I mean… you know me and Sam already… did it… but it was nerve wracking…. When you're ready, then go for it, you're not ready yet, so don't rush it. Otherwise it will feel like nothing, it won't be as important as it should be." Mikeala tried to say, leaning her own head down on top of Novalight's.

Novalight hummed. "Yeah… I want it to be special… but… look at me… I'm twenty six vorns old… and I still… the twins told me back when we first started becoming friends that they lost… theirs at a really… really young age, they didn't want to go on about it more… they have a lot more experience, than me… I'm completely green in this situation."

Mikeala nodded. "So. What your saying is, basically, your scared your gonna under perform?"

Novalight snorted. "Pretty pathetic huh? I've stared combiners down, and not even flinched, then left them burning husks with a few well aimed blasts… but this… I just… I don't feel ready…"

Mikeala reached down and grasped her guardians clenching hands. "Then don't do it, tell them your not ready, if they do love you like they seem to, they'll respect it and back off, they'll wait… right?"

Novalight shrugged. "I hope so…"

Mikeala nodded and patted the holoform's knee. "C'mon, you've got a daughter waiting for you… oh and Judy demands that she's called Honey. For some reason."

Novalight chuckled as the two rose. "Better than what I was probably gonna suggest, C4 isn't exactly a little girl's name."

Mikeala allowed a snort to slip past her for that one. "Nova, you are hopeless."

"Tell me something I don't know."

* * *

Two hours later

"And done!" Solardancer chirped.

All heads swung around, even Honey, whom had been happily suckling for the bottle that Novalight was holding.

Thankfully the infant had taken fully to the formula milk.

"You finished the holoform?" Qwezel guessed, that had been his youngest sister's little project for the last hour and a half, creating a holoform to disguise Honey's less than human features, such as her eyes, her hands, and feet, which were not covered by the same fleshy material as the rest of the infant.

Solardancer nodded, sending the code via com-link to her big sister, whom promptly added the code to her own and activated it, watching as red, glass optics were replaced by bright baby blues, similar to her own, and the mop of black hair even shifted to the golden blonde of Novalight's own holoform, for added effect.

Novalight had to give her little sister props, she was an apparent master at forging holoforms.

A similar line of thought seemed to go through their big, predacon brother.

"Hey, Solar? Think yah can whip me up a human holoform? Or at least something to that effect? Ratchet wasn't exactly adventurous with mine." Qwezel called from where he was curled up on the sofa.

Solardancer smirked, twiddling her fringe of fiery red bangs. "Ooooh, I don't know… it'd take me a while… good thing I started work on it yonks ago. Was planning to save it for your resurrection day… but… ah tah hell with it…."

Bumblebee, Novalight, and especially Qwezel's jaws were hanging at their little sister.

And Solardancer was trying not to fall off the back of the sofa from her peels of laughter.

Judy spoke up then. "And that meas…. What exactly?"

Ron shifted slightly. "I don't know, but if one of you wrecks the…" He was cut off the by the rock python being replaced by a man in a shimmer of pixels.

The sudden change was quite jarring, but was over quickly and the group's impressions switched from surprise to awe.

"Solar… you could make a career doing this." Novalight mumbled as she shimmied over and poked at a bit of the maroon mane which the holoform next to her, the wild locks now had held back by a woven red and green headband.

Qwezel's head, now with a South American complexion, turned down, taking a brief moment apparently to understand that his hands were now grasping the cushions underneath him, every other finger being decorated by a steel ring, trying to understand the sudden new sensations he was experiencing.

There was a long moment as silence as the holoform slowly pushed himself up, the heads of all the adults following as he wobbled slightly, bracing himself against the table next to the sofa he'd been sitting on.

Then, he spun, nearly falling over his feet, and lunged at Solardancer, tackling her off the back of the sofa and sending the both of them to the ground as he crushed her within a hug.

"I can _hold_ you! I can _hold_ you all! Nova! Bee! Get over here!" For the rest of his existence, he was going to firmly deny there was tears welling up from the sheer joy which had smacked hard across his face.

Bumblebee didn't hesitate to vault over the back of the sofa and crash down on top of the two already elated holoforms, Novalight gave herself just enough time to pass Honey and her half drank bottle to Mikeala, before leapfrogging off the back to drop on top of them like that viral video of the cat failing to jump between two ledges. **(Most will probably get the reference)**

What followed was all four rolling around on the floor in peels of laughter as their big brother tried out what it felt like to crush each of them to his chest whilst the other two returned the favor.

The humans all moved over to peer over the back of the sofa and watch the former snake and his adopted siblings, just taking in the sudden and highly unexpected change.

The doorbell going off cut them off.

Qwezel was up and racing for the door, bare heavy feet thumping on the wooden floor. "I'll get it!"

He very nearly ripped the entire door from it's hinges. "Hello!"

After a moment of staring at a seemingly empty driveway, he turned his gaze down, and found himself staring at a surprised, petite woman.

"JUDY! ARE YOU HAVING AN AFFAIR?"

The shout was sudden, jarring, and completely went against the small stature of this woman, whom, had left Qwezel's nearly external holoform ears ringing, and his tongue tying itself in an attempt to rebuke the woman and her claim.

Then she was shoving past him, a bright smile on her face. "Judy! Darling! You've been holding out on me! Such a strapping giant of a gentlemen in your home! And not a single call about it!" The woman exclaimed, then turned into living room and paused the the sight of the holoforms returning to their positions of the sofa, all of them, along with the humans, focused on her as Qwezel returned back into the living room with a stunned, dropped jaw expression on his features, passing the woman outright and needing Novalight to pull him down into the cushions after standing there dumbly for a few moments, mind still a little blank after the shout outright blasted all of his thoughts from his mind.

"Who are you lot?" Poppy enquired, giving the group of four a curious look, before spotting Honey in Mikeala's arms. "My first nephew!"

"Poppy…" Judy tried, by was cut off.

"Niece then! Let me see the little cherub!" The fifty plus woman practically imitated an Antelope as she bounded over the coffee table between her and Mikeala, sweeping the infant out of the teens grasp, much to Mikeala's surprised.

Poppy paused however at the blonde locks and bright blue eyes staring back. Her head then turned, almost agonisingly slowly, pinning a practically murderous glare on Sam. " _You_ had an _affair_."

Solardancer quickly bit her own arm to hold in the urge to outright laugh at the teens immediately flustered attempts to correct his aunt.

Novalight however, took pity on the teen for once and rose, catching Poppy's attention. "Ma'am, my daughter please, and I should state now, Sam is not the father… my... boyfriends are."

Poppy stared at the woman who now stood over her, spotting the similarities, bright blue eyes, honey blonde, albeit the purple tips were a cosmetic difference.

Tentatively, the older woman handed the infant over. "Then… I'm not an auntie?" Novalight nodded. "Then who in the name of Uncle Sam are you?!"

Mikeala quickly rose. "She's my friend! And these are her siblings!" She rushed to explain, gesturing towards Bumblebee, Solardancer and Qwezel.

Poppy regarded all four holoforms, and seemed to come up blank. "Dear I think you need to get your eyes checked, there's no way their siblings… maybe those two, but not those two." She gestured to Novalight and Bumblebee, but then made a dismissive gesture towards Qwezel and Solardancer's own, the woman likely making that assumption due to Qwezel's South American styled holoform, and Solardancer's more Asian oriented one.

Ron groaned. "They're all adopted Poppy, Benji and Narisa were adopted as kids, Sarah and… Quzo, came later." He announced.

Poppy let off an understanding sound extending her hand out to Novalight. "Well then, I owe you all an apology for jumping to conclusions like that! You said boyfriends? As in, more than one? Plural?"

Juddy, for some reason, decided to answer for her. "Oh yes! They're both handsome young men! Twins in fact! Soldiers at that! Narisa's a Jet mechanic and they met on tour! Gracious… If I was Narisa's age… I'd happily pursue them… if I wasn't married Ron!" She added at her husband's horrified look.

Novalight sent a pleading look to her siblings, Bumblebee and Solardancer just gave hopeless shrugs, Qwezel had returned to being in awe of his body, and was too busy exploring his slightly pointed nails.

* * *

For the next half an hour, question after question flew from the petite red head, and each one left Novalight's holoform turning redder and redder as she tried to keep Honey calm, the infant was thankfully easily rocked to sleep, and, so long as no loud noises came, they'd be fine.

Alas, Poppy's unending energy and questions also meant that they all effectively forgot that the twins, Ratchet, and Optimus were all coming.

Half an hour on the dot after Poppy arrived, the doorbell went again, Poppy was quick to rise, but Novalight beat her to it, passing Honey to Solardancer and bolting for the door, red faced and flustered and just needing a break from the rampant questions about… well, Sam and Mikeala had been sent off due to their… content.

Optimus was the one who'd apparently rung the door bell, without so much as a wink of hesitation, she grabbed the surprised holoforms arm and practically dragged him into the living room, shooting a flushed glare at the twins when they tried to step beyond the threshold, once in the living room, she gestured to the older male holoform. "My uncle, Orion." Then she was racing back to the door, grabbing both of the twins by the collar and hurrying them along into the room. "My boyfriends, Simon and Sidion." Then she shoved them onto the cushion she'd been on, and then returned to the impatient Ratchet who was already tapping his boot on the threshold with a greying eyebrow raised.

She just did the same and forced him to sit on the floor, given that there was no more room left. "Uncle Hatchet." Oh she got a murderous look for that one.

"Now, if you'll excuse me… I need to… go… do… something… BYE!" Then she was throwing the front door shut behind her and sprinting down the street, needing to burn off some of the embarrassment that had been directed at her for the last half an hour.

Back in the living room, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker looked between the surrounding humans and their femme friends siblings. "So… anyone gonna explain what just happened?" Sideswipe spoke first, only to have his face grabbed by a petite red head he'd never seen before and pulled right up to the point their noses almost touched.

"You're so handsome! God your children are all going to be models! You must have more to share with the world!"

"Poppy!"

"Oh my… god…"

"Gracious…"

"Judy… control your sister."

"Ma'am... are you certain you are currently mentally stable?"

"Err… lady… can you… let go of my face? Please?"

* * *

 **Yes, I gave Judy a sister, yes, she is worse than Judy when it comes to private matters... yes I'm being mean to all the poor bots. But, hey! I gave Qwez a human holoform! (Solar's a sneaky little thing when she wants to be), Sides has no shame... but I think Poppy might intimidate him a bit.**

 **Now they just have to keep Poppy from discovering the leg, and all should be dandy... right? Right?**

 **You won't know until next time, hell, I'm not a 100% set yet.**

 **Again, I'm considering posting this also on Archive of your own, so I can add some pictures in coming chapters, should I?**

 **Well, until next time, see yah!**

 **Moon**


	24. Is she gone yet?

**Another chapter ready to go at last! So sorry about the delay, got my final exams starting next month, they'll be deciding if I go to Uni or not, so my time to write has been a bit more constrained. What time I have had has mostly been spent working on the Birds of Prey re-write, which is going nicely. Anyway, normal disclaimers, anyone who does not belong to the films belongs to me, and with that said, I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

In all of five minutes, it became painfully obvious why Novalight had outright bailed on them… as did Qwezel, Solardancer and Bumblebee soon after, leaving Honey in Sunstreaker's less than certain arms, and Optimus trying to direct Poppy's interests to other less… private subjects. Qwezel had outright had to take off to the upper atmosphere when Novalight left him without her cloak to borrow from.

Ratchet was silently running scans on the woman's brain from his alt mode and sending the findings to a the Psychiatrist that worked at Deigo Garcia.

The woman was more than helpful in stating the obvious fact that Judy's sister was tip toeing on the brink of going off the deep end.

Sideswipe, was at present, trying to slowly scoot further down the sofa away from the woman as she turned her attention on his twin, only for Sunstreaker to grab his wrist with his free hand, using the other to hold the baby like how he'd looked up was suitable.

/The Pit am I letting you get out of this and leave me stuck with this crazy woman!/ He hissed over the bond.

/But Sunny! I gotta go find Nova!/

/She'll be fine! You're staying here!/

/But what if a con attacks?/

That got him an incredulous look.

/Bro… when the Pit, has Nova had any trouble taking out cons? You just want to leave me here with a squishy organic…./ His holoform gave a minute shudder, holding this part organic creature was really putting him on edge.

/No! I want to get Nova, calm her down, then get her back so that you don't have to hold the thing anymore!/ Sideswipe pressed, trying to convince his brother of the truth, well the truth he hoped his brother would believe.

Thankfully he did. "Hey! … Poppy! Sidion needs to go find Narisa, she's got the kids… binkie?" He suddenly announced, before pausing to look up the item.

Poppy gasped. "Of course! Go! Go! Go you gallant creature of sex appeal!"

Had someone looked into the living room window, they would mistaken the majority of humans/holoforms for stop signs.

This didn't stop Sideswipe's chest puffing out a bit in stroked ego as he nodded, then vaulted over the back of the sofa, nearly kicking Sunstreaker's head in the process, and bolting for the door like Shimmerlight was on his aft once again.

"BYE! BE BACK LATER!" He shouted just before slamming the door behind him.

The sound of squealing tires followed not seconds later.

"You think he dived through the passenger window?" Poppy enquired, sighing wistfully. "If only I could find a man so dedicated to raising a child." Then, her gaze snapped to Sunstreaker, who's red face went from pale as a bed sheet in such a short period of time, it could practically be a Universal record.

"So… dearie… how long did it take to conceive the little angel?"

"Can we please talk about something else?"

"No."

"Mrs Witwicky… I implore you, can we change the...?"

"Mr Orion, as drop dead gorgeous as you are, I'm going to have to say no, I. Must. Know."

That silenced Optimus as he sent Sunstreaker a stunned and pitying look.

The Golden Lambo was regarding the window with more and more favorability as the seconds ticked by and he held his tongue, unsure of if he really should answer the woman's question, it would like only cause more to come.

Yes he and his twin were notorious Players back before they went straight and focused on Novalight.

But this woman was really, really becoming too much.

/Sides, you get you're fragging aft back here as soon as you fragging can./

No response.

/I am going to fragging murder you./

* * *

A few miles away, in a small park, perched on a bench, Novalight had her holoform's dark purple dyed leather jacket pressed to her face as she screamed into it to burn away the pent up sheer embarrassment which was threatening to drown her.

"Darlin', tha's hardly how ah lady should express herself." A voice spoke from her left, a southern twang to the feminine voice.

Jolted, Novalight's head snapped out from it's place in her jacket, regarding the woman in front of her.

Steel silver hair, was what she registered first, then the plunging neckline lilac shirt that dropped right to the navel of the woman standing front of her, revealing the tanned complexion which was mimicked on the legs that were only partially hidden by a pair of torn jean shorts.

The woman was standing with one hand propped on her hip, the other holding a coffee cup with the Starbucks logo.

"Oh, sorry, did you want to sit here?" Novalight enquired, moving to rise to offer her place to the other woman.

The sound of tyres screeching caught her ears, turning her gaze to the road where a car had suddenly halted dead in the middle of the road, the driver side window rolling down to reveal a man starring with jaw dropped at the woman whom had just addressed her.

A snort at her side drew her attention to the woman now sitting on the bench next to her, swaying her cup slightly between her manicured nails. "Damn horny pig." The woman huffed, flicking her silver lower back length hair back over her shoulder before turning to her. "Name's Aska, you darlin'?" The woman enquired.

"Oh! Narisa, Narisa Hide." Novalight responded, taking the woman's offered hand. "So…"

"Wha' where yah doin' screamin' inta yah jacket like tha'? Hardly a flatterin' action." Aska pressed.

Novalight groaned. "It's complicated."

"My shift don' star' for another two hours, plen'y ah time. 'Less yah go' better thin's tah do then talk tah a stranger from tha South." Aska answered with a coy look.

Novalight quickly went to answer. "No! No! You're company is just unexpected!" She sighed then. "I took the fall and claimed mothership of this kid me and my siblings found in the woods with some friends was mine, so that said friends, still in highschool mind you, didn't get accused of having a kid before college, yah know, going against the grain of society and all that… cause I'm older and I'm dating, I was the most eligible to take the fall when our friends relative showed up… had I known how… how…"

"How wha' darlin'?"

"Intrusive they were? Not even my doctor asked those kinda questions when I was first becoming a 'woman'." Novalight responded, making quotation marks with her fingers.

"Sound's tah me like yah either have a crap doc', or yah jus' too' a good lon' look at hell." Aska responded with a smirk, then proceeding to take a sip of her coffee, a little bit of the cream sticking to her lilac lipstick covered lips which she promptly wiped away with a digit.

Novalight didn't see this, her face buried in her hands. "Unfortunately, it's the later, my doctors a miracle worker. It got even worse when my brothers friends mum brought up the fact I'm dating two guys, twins… God… I've never been so red before in my life… I've never gotten to third base with anyone and all of a sudden I'm being asked how many times I…"

Aska patted her back. "Yah poor, poor innocen' child… say no more deary, Aunty Aska understands, gotta say I'm jealous though, twins are hot shit."

Novalight snorted. "Try, so hot they could turn a straight man into a pretzel."

Aska really laughed that time. "What abou' a bible bashin' southen lout like mah uncle?"

Novalight hummed, tapping her chin. "Depends, I'm half tempted to say my boys have probably bent a lampost with just a smoulder. So I doubt your uncles resistance will stand."

Aska chuckled. "Damn, I wish ah could'a seen tha'. Wouldn' wor' anyway, tha bastar' go' a bulle' to tha head in a shoot out with cops yonks ago. Good riddance if yah as' me." Aska huffed at the end, taking another sip.

Novalight chose to change the subject. "What about you? Got a man to go home to?"

"Not a man honey, I'm a single diva turnin' gay men straigh' and straigh' women gay." She answered.

Honestly unphased by the admittance, Novalight gave Aska a smile. "Well, at least you're happy."

"Damn righ' I am, well, most tha time, gotta keep mah stupid brotha in law in check... " She was cut off by the sounds of squealing tires as the familiar form of Sideswipe drifted on the now thankfully empty road, tires hitting the curb just as he stopped moving.

Then came Sideswipe's holoform, letting off an excited cry at seeing Novalight sitting on the bench. "Darling!I'vefoundyou!Pleasecomeback!Thatwoman'samonster!Ileftbrotheretofaceherquestionsaloneandnowhe'sgonnakillme!" It all came out in the space of about five seconds as he rushed to her, gathered her up in his arms before he could react, and then rushed back to his car, not even giving her time to say goodbye as her stunned holoform aft was dropped into the passenger side front seat, it took Sideswipe all of three seconds to vault over his own hood, get his seatbelt on, and slam the accelerator into the ground, peeling out of his hardly used parking space, the driver side door slamming shut just in time to avoid clipping the car in front of his own form.

"SIDES!" Novalight shouted nails gripping the leather seats as her true form moved to keep up.

"NO TIME! MAKE A HOLOFORM BINKIE!"

"A WHAT?"

Back on the bench, Aska sipped at her lukewarm coffee, humming at the taste as she finished the beverage with a single toss back of her head, once done, she rose, tossing her cup into the bin that sat next to the bench, and strolled across the road, ignoring the sound of a car crashing into another parked one some way down the road.

Reaching into the purse that hung from a thin strap over her shoulder, she pulled out her flip phone, easily typing in the number she needed.

Just as she was about to hit the call button, a group made themselves presence.

"Heya lady, you should know alleys ain't an URK!" The brute of a man fell, clasping at his neck where she had jabbed it with her manicured nails.

"I ain' in tha mood, out of mah fraggin' way."

They didn't ease up more than a step.

"Fine, we'll be doin' this tha hard way then."

The fight that followed could hardly be called that, and much more a one sided asswhoppin'.

When the last goon fell, Aska barely had a smudge on her, but it was more than enough to put her in a foul mood as she finally hit the call button, a groan coming from the man she was standing on, her stiletto heels digging into the man's abdomen and crotch.

As expected, it was picked up before even the first ring tone.

'You found her? How is she?'

She lifted her free hand up, looking over her nails, not a mark on them. "The kids fine, a little ruffled up because of some crazy human. Was screamin' into this cute li'l jacket when ah found her." She hopped down from her perch on the man, earning a relieved sigh which was promptly cut off with a kick to the head. "But I'm pissed, these damn horny humans don' know the firs' thin' abou' decency!"

'Oh, like you do.'

"Oh shut yah trap before ah weld it shut in yah sleep. You know I'm damn handy with a weldin' torch."

'Right, shutting up…. Is she ok? Is my little girl ok?'

"She ain't a kid no more you dolt, she's a full grown femme with her own mechs and…"

'Whoa! Whoa! Whoa there! Mechs… as in… plural… the 's' on the end makes it plural.'

"Yes… Plural… Now before you go into as much of a rage as that collar of yours allows, listen, they're twins. The Terror Twins."

A long, agonised groan come from the other side. 'M….My little girl…'

"If you start trying to come up with some fandangled plan tah brea' them up, I'mma castrate yah."

She could practically hear his wince.

'Ok… I won't… You're… gonna try and find her again? Talk to her? Could you? Please?'

Aska sighed, rubbing at the ridge between her eyes with her first two fingers. "Yah dolt, you really think I wouldn't look out for my sisters kid now I know where she is? She's my niece like she is your kid, of course I'mma look out for her."

'Thank you… really, thank you… you have no idea how much better I feel now… knowing you can keep an optic out on her.'

She reached the other side of the alleyway again, turning her gaze to her true form, grimacing slightly as she was reminded once again that she'd had to take a ground alt to blend in… At least her brother in bond knew how to re-configure T-cogs. Pulling open the dark purple chrome and gold door she rested her holoforms arm on the top of the sleek convertible Corvette Z51's window, one of the few places on her frame that didn't feel like it was being roasted by by the Suns glare. "I can guess, now get back tah work, don' wan' any of the others knowin' I'm soft on family. I have no intention of lossin' mah pretty helm, I've kep' it this lon', I ain't loosin' it now 'cause yah all mouthy and wanna keep yappin."

'Alright… oh! One last question! What was the fake name you gave her?'

"Aska, yah know, Swedish."

'Swedish, for Thunder… not exactly discreet. She could just look that up.'

"Oh! I'd like to see yah do better when you stumble on yah kid withou' warnin' when yah tryin' tah sample the local beverages!" She snapped back, sliding into the driver's side with a huff.

'I wish I could… scrap, I can hear someone coming, thanks… really, you're amazing Thunderblast.'

The line went dead, leaving the femme to groan and flip her phone back shut, tossing it into her back seat as she pulled away from the curve.

"Tha thing's ah do for family… alrigh' kid, where'd yah go with yah mech?" She mumbled, before sighing and giving herself a shrug. "Eh, I'll find her again eventually… now… what's all this bruhaha I've been hearing about 'Mcdanalds…. Mcdinalds? Mcdonalds! That's it! … Glad no bot was around to see that."

Just as she was glad there were no other Autobots prowling around to see the gleaming insignia she had for a hood ornament.

* * *

A few hours later

The sound of the door finally shutting on Poppy, was one that had an effect to realising the gun pointed at one's helm, had already ran out of ammo.

Novalight practically fell off the sofa she'd been sitting on, her body going numb and boneless in relief.

Thankfully, the twins were there to catch her, well, Sideswipe was, Sunstreaker was now taking his turn with one of the pillows to vent his frustrations after Novalight had suggested it a few hours prior.

At present, Ratchet had Honey and was walking towards the kitchen with Ron, intending to finally get a look at the woman's leg, which had started to really stink up the kitchen with the smell of burnt flesh and the culmination of chemicals which had been used to blow the woman's body to smithereens.

Qwezel had returned not long after Novalight, being extra careful with how he landed his giant bulk so as to avoid raising any suspicion as he quickly started borrowing Novalight's cloak again.

Bumblebee and Solardancer had in turn returned two hours later, two boxes of almost empty cinema popcorn in hands, evidently from their expressions at discovering that Poppy had still been there rattling off questions like an automatic machine gun, they'd thought a trip to the cinema would be long enough for the woman to be gone.

Even Optimus had struggled to maintain internal calm after a certain point, after Poppy weaselled out that he and Elita-1 were a couple, or to Poppy's knowledge, Eleanor. After that had gotten out, Poppy took some of her attention away from Novalight and the Twins, and instead turned it directly on the poor Prime, whom had ended up floundering like the rest of them.

It was only when Poppy had directed her attention at Qwezel, enquiring to the rings that decorated his holoform's new hands, that she finally seemed to get cut down to size, when Qwezel, outright stated that his 'wife' 'Julie' Had passed away a few years prior from a fatal head injury and that her questions, assumptions and other such rude behaviour was anything but appreciated.

The others brushed it off as Qwezel having come up with an excuse to get Poppy off his back, but Novalight had known better, she knew it wasn't a story, it was real life, it had happened, and in response to his admittance, she reached out, grabbed his shoulder, and pulled him down till his head rested into the crook of her own holoforms neck.

His arms snaked around her, being careful not to crush Honey.

The others had quickly reassessed the severity of the admittance, and it was decided that Poppy's visit was probably best ended.

It lasted around twenty minutes longer though, in that time Qwezel had recovered and moved aside to allow the twins to instead box Novalight in between their own holoforms.

Judy let off a sigh as she slumped back into her own spot on one of the other sofas. "I forget sometimes… how difficult she can be." The red haired woman remarked.

The rest of those present let off half drained muttering agreements.

Ratchet then re-emerged from the kitchen, the woman's leg held in his hand with a plastic bag separating the limb from direct contact with his holoform. "I have a match." He announced.

Space was quickly made for the medic, whom ended up dumping the leg on the table.

"Sophia Dupion, born in Paris twenty two years ago… twelve months ago she was reported missing along with five other women who'd been on a hiking trip in the Alps, one of the women were found hiding in a tiny crag, she has since been moved to a Psychiatric ward due to the traumatised state she was in… she has not recovered. So trying to get information from her doesn't seem to be an option… No traces of the other women were found… until now." He announced, gesturing to the leg. "I performed a DNA test on Honey here, it's a definitive match, but I could not identify the father beyond the fact that it is evidently… Cybertronian."

Ron spoke then. "How? How would one of you… even get a woman… a human woman… I mean, you're huge! How would it have… fit? Do you guys even breed like that? I mean, you are from another planet and all…"

There was a few flushed faces and awkward coughs after that statement.

Ratchet remained as non-chalant on anatomy and other such discussions as ever. "Given my research, I can safely state that we are quite similar, also, I believe in this case, it is far more likely that the insemination was artificial."

Novalight let off a groan. "Please tell us you don't mean that you're research was watching porn…" The idea of bolting again and trying to locate Aska was actually quite high, something about that woman had helped her feel a lot more relaxed that one would expect from a random human one stumbles upon…

Ratchet sent her a withering look, but didn't say anything, effectively confirming the assumption.

Sideswipe snorted. "Damn Hatchet, didn't realise you were such a horn dog!"

Some part of that sentence got him a ladle to the head. Where Ratchet had gotten and in turn hidden the cooking tool, no one dared ask.

"It was solely for research I assure you."

Sunstreaker just let off a snort of his own as The rest of the holoforms found anything other than Ratchet suddenly incredibly interesting, including Qwezel whom decided to play with the mane of hair which his now holoform was blessed with.

"Can I just say, this is the weirdest fragging day of my life?" Solardancer enquired, hand raised in the air to draw attention to her.

No one felt they had a stranger day to compare.

Novalight looked over to Judy. "First your mother, and now your sister… please tell us your father was at least sane?"

Judy chuckled. "Oh no! He was a complete whack job! He died from dehydration back in the sixties!"

"Where did that happen?"

"On a lake."

The response was followed by a round of faces being slapped and grumbles about the incompetence of some of humanity.

* * *

 **Well... that was fun! Yup, Thunderblast, the femme who proved that Cybertronian Femmes are endowed by flashing giant honey dew melons whilst in an active volcano is Nova's Aunt! (And currently peeved that she had to take a ground based vehicle mode to 'explore'.) So now you know where Nova's colours come from! On other Stealth News, I posted a more up to date version of what Qwezel looks like over on DeviantArt, however I did accidentally forget the lightning scars and the like when I drew and posted him, so, eh. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Until next time!**

 **Moon**


	25. A sudden turn of events 2

**My exams have finally ended so I can right again, and the first thing I do is finish this chapter... and in four months/ish, this chapter as gone from a pleasant, funny beginning... to the ending... holy fragamuffins... yeah... I'm bumping up Stealth's rating after this chapter for what is revealed. Fore warning, that does not mean that Nova and the twins get in berth together. That's a long way off yet because I've now put in this mess. Yay... Well, hope you all enjoy the new chapter, updates will hopefully be faster now that I've finished secondary school. At last, longest six damn years of my life!**

* * *

 **Chapter 25**

They really should've seen this coming when they arrived back on Deigo Garcia.

Given by the fact that they'd forgotten to mention the actual situation with the infant to anyone but Optimus, Ratchet, and the Twins, who'd nagged for the reason they were being called on the flight over.

Chromia and Ironhide had been waiting just off the runway as the C-17's carrying all but Novalight, Qwezel and Solardancer landed.

Honey had gone with Bumblebee after Sunstreaker outright refused to carry the infant again and Sideswipe actually nearly swerved off the road to the Airport after Ratchet had suggested the red lambo took not just the infant, but the severed limb, which the medic ended up carrying anyway.

The general consensus seemed to be that Ratchet had decided to get the mech back after all of the taunting which had happened since the medics revelation at the Witwicky house.

When Bumblebee rolled down the ramp, transformed, and handed Chromia Honey with a radio clip of 'Congratulations, you're a grandmother', it is safe to say that Bumblebee's attempt at humour backfired magnificently, at least until he managed to get Ratchet to announce that the infant wasn't somehow his so that he could get out of the suddenly murderous looks from his adoptive creators.

After that, it became uproariously hilarious when Ironhide managed to snatch Novalight right off an about to land Qwezel and begin having a go at her for bedding a human.

Whilst holding her upside down by one of her pedes.

Safe to say, Novalight was mortified by the accusation, and after everything that had already happened that day to exhaust her psyche, her processor just gave up with a few little sparks, leaving her unconscious form dangling from her sires grip.

Ironhide turned to find Ratchet rubbing his faceplates in agrivation, the Twins exchanging a concerned glance, and Optimus trying very hard to focus on addressing the human officials who'd come up demanding why the sudden need to go to California for so many mechs.

Chromia crouched down, the somehow sleeping Honey cradled in one half curled servo as she examined her daughters faceplates. "Anyone want to finally explain what in the name of Unicrons unholy aft has been going on?" She called.

"HUMAN SPAWN!"

The shout came a moment later, and Chromia just managed to dodge the carrening form of Flareup from crashing in her, resulting in the over-excitable femme going rolling and sliding down the tarmac a good few meters before rolling into a seating position. "Hey! I just wanted to see what it looked like! … What happened to Lil' Nova?" She added at the sight of Ironhide still holding her like a hunter would a freshly killed Pheasant.

Chromia huffed and rose back up to full height. "She glitched… for some reason."

Qwezel chuckled from where he'd landed, rolling his hell fire optics. "This is going to take forever to explain…"

* * *

Seven hours later, Medbay

Honey was gurgling in the holoform arms of Chromia as the explanation finally came to an end, the infant reaching to pull at the holoform's now tied out of reach blue hair which the infant had yanked on mercilessly for a solid hour after Solardancer grew tired of holding the now full of energy infant.

"So… now what?" Ironhide huffed, glancing at his mates holoform as she remained perched on his shoulderplating.

Optimus glanced around the room, optics lingering for a moment on Novalight's still comatose frame, the femme seeker still hadn't come back around. "We alert the human Government to the situation, they already enquiring as to the sudden deployment of the two C-17's. And to the explosion outside of Tranquility." He responded.

Ratchet huffed. "Oh joy, yes, let the humans know that we have a human Cybertronian hybrid on our servos, they'll demand to have her for experimentation or some scrap like that… probably claim that given she's not a weapon, she must be shared… just like the shard." He was clearly displeased with the idea.

Ironhide, and Chromia's engine duet quickly showed their dislike of the notion, Chromia tucking the enfant closer to her. "Frag no, they're gonna have to go through my cannon if they want to cut her open!"

Ironhide let off a noncommittal grunt in agreement, but his expression gave away how livid he was feeling about the whole idea.

Solardancer leaned over and placed her helm on Chromia's shoulderplate. "So we keep her a secret? Hide her from the humans?"

There was a brief pause as processors worked, Elita actually being the one to speak first from where she stood beside Optimus. "She is just as much one of us as she is one of them, we must find a way to give her both sides of the spectrum in regards to interaction, without loosing her to the humans spider web of bureaucracy… Prowl, you'd probably be our best bet at finding a loop hole we can use to keep her off the lab table, you up for the task?" The femme commander enquired, regarding the tactician who'd yet to speak since they had all regrouped on Deigo.

The former enforcer remained in deep thought for a few moments longer, door wings flicking about in the limited personal space that the cramped medbay provided. Finally he seemed to come to a conclusion. "I will do what I can, though you should not get your hopes up too high, the humans, despite their miniscule existence compared to our own, have certainly found ways of even giving my own processor a run for it's money before during the debacle about Novalight and Qwezel's scanning runs after we joined you, you'd certainly made a mess of that one." He announced, turning a judging look towards the Predacon sticking his helm through the medbay door, given the room was already stacked high with bots, the Predacon, with all of his bulk, was stuck outside looking in.

A groan from the berth currently housing Novalight drew their attention as she pushed herself up on one arm, blearily gazing out at them. "Could y'all pipe down? Damn yah likely tah wake tha dea' with all yah jabberin'." Her voice was slurring, clearly still coming round from her previous state of unconsciousness Then she was slumping back down on her side, servo coming up to hide her optics from the bright over helm lights bearing down on all of them. "An' will somebot turn down tha brigh'ness?! Its like yah got damn search lights on in 'ere!"

A round of chuckles went around the room in response as the Seeker finally righted herself with a huff and pout.

Ironhide walked over then, bringing his large servo down on her shoulder plating. "Sorry about earlier kid."

Novalight just tilted her helm at him in confusion. "What?"

A chuckle left her sire. "For grabbing you off Qwezel like that and demanding why you had a human infant."

"Oooooh… Wait… that happened? Ugh, I must of really been out of it…"

Chromia spoke up. "We figured that after the others finished up explaining what happened, the Witiwicky's seem to be a more and more… ummm… Colourful lot, hmm?"

Novalight's helm dropped into her servos. "Oh don't remind me, I didn't know our holoforms could turn that red!"

Sideswipe, who'd been keeping quiet next to Novalight's berth lent over and slung his arm over her wings to rest on her other shoulder which Ironhide removed his servo of. "Well, for a first time mother, I think you nailed the all important 'Panic attack'!"

He got a light slap to the face for his troubles.

"Says the mech who almost matched Blurr when you were trying to get me back to the Witwicky's! I didn't even get to say goodbye to Aska!"

There was a long beat of silence then.

Sunstreaker, who was leaning against a portable sparkmonitor despite Ratchet already waving a wrench at him a few times, spoke. "Who the frag is Aska?"

Novalight shrugged. "Just this nice woman from somewhere in the Southern States who decided to sit with me and talk, she actually helped calm me down… we had a nice… Conversation." Her faceplates quickly flashed blue, remembering exactly what she'd said to the older woman without any hesitation whatsoever. Especially regarding the very apparent sex appeal of her mechfriends.

Sideswipe evidently caught the flush of energon. "Oh? What was it about? Us? How devilishly handsome I am compared to Sunny?" "Hey!" "How good we are at leaving you a…" Before he could so much as say another syllable, Novalight had decked him square in the face.

The red mech teetered for a moment before falling backwards onto the floor, his wheeled pedes lifting up for a moment from momentum before joining the rest of him on the floor.

"WILL YOU STOP THAT YOU DAMN PERVERT?!" Novalight practically screeched, fist still in place where it had come to rest after the blow.

There was another long silence that followed, broken only by Sideswipe's pained groan as he rubbed at his now smarting faceplates, nothing was dented, but they still stung.

At the sound, Novalight rolled forwards to peer over the side of the berth and down at him. "Sides? You ok? Sorry, I guess I'm not… quite yet recovered from what happened."

Sideswipe, to his credit, gave a muffled laugh from under his servos before pulling them away to look up at her. "Damn Sweetspark… from this angle, you look like a Cybertronian angel descending from the sky, you've got the wings and all."

Novalight's helm tilted to the side. "Huh?"

The older Cybertronians all exchanged looks before slowly filing out, Chromia taking Honey with Ironhide following right behind, the hybrid infant being stashed within the blue and white femmes Sparkling hold so that none of the humans had the chance of spotting the infant.

Optimus, Elita-1 and Prowl followed soon after, starting up a conversation about how to properly deal with the human Cybertronian hybrid conundrum.

Ratchet, to his credit, tossed a wrench at Sideswipes helm before himself storming out, muttering something about 'getting away from the stupidity of youth'.

That was all ignored as Novalight hoped down from the berth to help Sunstreaker with pulling the red twin back to his wheeled pedes.

Still Novalight's faceplates hadn't returned to normal, and she kept her attention on Sunstreaker. "So… what do you want to do?"

Sideswipe smirked. "I have an…"

"Say one more word, and you're gonna meet the floor again."

"Oooh… you going down with me?~"

The seeker's fists clenched, along with her denta, wings hiking up as she stubbornly averted her gaze and instead stormed right out the med-bay, bumping Sideswipe's shoulderplatting on the way out.

The two mechs stared at the med bay door dumbstruck for a moment, before Sunstreaker lent over and whacked him, again, over the back of the helm. "Too much bro, too much."

Sideswipe winced, but then wheeled to the door frame and peered out, finding her walking away from a certain Predacon, who was shooting him a murderous look before said Predacon moved to slither behind his little sister, his wings flaring out and scraping the sides of the corridor to completely hide Novalight from view.

The red mech slumped against the door frame. "Fraggit… I screwed up… I…"

Sunstreaker patted his brother on the shoulderplate. "She ain't like the femmes we… used to…"

"I get it bro… I just… forget sometimes… We've only been together for a short while… but…"

"Stop leaving your helm in the gutter and think for once would you Sides? But you're right, and you're not the only one at fault here… I've been a bit too pushy too on this… what we need to do, is give her space, then apologise, try and work out where we're overstepping, and go from there, sound good?"

Sideswipe nodded, staring solemnly at where brother and sister had disappeared from view.

* * *

Qwezel was propped up against the back wall of the firing range as he regarded his fuming little sister, his coils taking up the majority of the space behind the firing ranges large bench.

He watched as round after round was fired from one of the rifles in Novalight's collection, one she rarely used due to her never really having to stay on the back lines.

She'd been at it for over an hour now, muttering a thousand different things, whilst firing directly at the crotch of the training dummies.

There was a significant lack of dummy in that spot now, so she was beginning to drift her shots up to it's head.

He'd kept silent since she'd stormed out of the medbay.

It didn't take a genius to know she just needed the company to keep her from having a complete breakdown.

Maybe that was what she needed? To finally just get it all out?

"The twins?" He knew it was about the twins, he'd come to that conclusion in the corridor when he'd seen everyone else leave, when he'd heard the short conversation with them, it was more than enough for him to know that the scowl he sent their way was wholly justified in his own personal opinion.

Novalight just let off a slightly strained grunt before firing off another shot, right to the eye.

"I'm here to talk when you run out of ammo."

The rifle's cartridge clicked empty just after.

With an exvent Novalight placed the rifle down and moved to rest her elbow joints on the bench, finding her helm once again resting in the cradle her servos formed.

He lent over her, his wings unfurling slightly to help push him from the wall so that he could nudge his tusks into her side.

"I… I'm scared…"

His expression softened as much as it could, his hell fire optics focused on how all four of her wings had lowered against her back strut.

"Do you wish to talk about it somewhere more private? The far end of the island perhaps?"

Novalight nodded, pulling herself up from the bench and quickly clambering up into his mane, burying herself under the cabling and gripping onto the maroon platting below.

With that, he began to contort his form to successfully get back out of the firing range, moving in the base was always a bit of a chore for him, but the massive Predacon managed as he squeezed through the door frame, having to further contort his wings to coerce them out as well.

He found Prowl of all mechs walking towards them. "Ah, Qwezel, I need you to…"

"I can't right now, my apologies Prowl, but whatever it is, it must wait." With that, he did his best to squeeze past the former Enforcer, though the mech still ended up almost falling to the ground after getting blind-sided by one of the Predacons now folded wings.

"Sorry!" He didn't wait for Prowl to respond, slithering down the corridor and out into the open air, unfurling his wings he began beating them, coiling his frame and then launching himself from the ground like a snapped spring, wings beating heavily as he angled towards the far side of the lagoon surrounding island.

* * *

When he landed with his usual lacking grace, he felt Novalight already sliding down his side and onto the white sands that had been disrupted by his landing.

He decided he better get down to it. "You're scared of intimacy with the Twins."

Novalight nodded, moving to sit down on the sands, folding her legs up to her chassis and wrapping her arms around them. "What gave it away?"

"A few things, Poppy certainly didn't help, and how you reacted to the twins back in the Medbay."

"You heard that huh?"

"Nova, my audios are meant to pick up rivals from beyond the horizons of Cybertron, of course I heard."

Novalight let off a low groan into her knee joints.

He shifted, coiling as best as he could around her and stretching a wing out to catch her frame and pull her into his side, his helm dropping down onto the sand in front of her.

"I want to help, I know you're scared, but I need to know where this… comes from."

Novalight unfurled and stared down at her clenched fists. "I… I don't… I don't know… every time… every time me and the twins seem to pass a certain point, I just… get so scared, I hide it… fake com-links from one of our family, then bolt… I… I don't even know if I want to go that far with them…" By the time she was finished, her left fist was pressed up against her lipplates.

A low croon left the Predacon as his helm shifted further, lowering carefully now onto her unfurled legs. "Did anything happen in your youth? Anything at all that could cause this fear of intimacy?"

Novalight froze at his words, bright blue optics cycling as she starred at nothing.

The silence stretched on, and Qwezel nudged her knee with one of his tusks."Nova?" His features quickly morphed to concern as he began to hear and feel her armour rattle, she was shaking, her optics cycling faster, wings shaking and spasming.

"My…. My… My…." Her voice kept hitching each time she tried to say the next word, her servos dropping down to her chassis, clutching at the armour there as she began to curl in on herself.

Qwezel wasn't sure what to do, but tried to get his snout as close to her as possible. "Nova… vent, please… tell me what's wrong…"

"I… I'm re… rem… remembering… Qwez… hold… hold me… please…"

He pulled his helm away, his body practically lashing around like a bull whip as he tried his best to contort his frame to wrap around her, lowering his helm against her so that she could turn and bury her helm into his mane.

He froze absolutely still at the first agonised cry, as her clawed servos grabbed fistfuls of the wiry fibers, pulling at them as she buried her faceplates into the mess.

It took a moment for him to feel the lubricant soaking into his mane.

"Nova?"

"The twins… they're not… they're not... my... my... oh Primus... Qwez..."

He shushed her, he didn't need to know anymore to put the puzzle together.

He just did his best to hold her as she broke down completely.

Offering his support when her legs gave way.

It was all he could do that day.

But as soon as he found the bastards… they would pay for their crimes, tenfold.

It was only when he felt her slip into recharge that he moved again, using his wing to slowly coerce her limp form up into his mane.

He didn't fly, he slithered through the jungle, crushing anything bellow with his slow moving girth, everything scattered at the sight of his massive form sliding along the ground.

He couldn't of cared less of the native creatures.

When he arrived back at base, it was Ironhide he found waiting for him.

He was silent as Ironhide stepped forwards. "Colonel Lennox volunteered to take in Honey, his already called his wife and she's agreed to look after the kid at their safe house in the US, he'll be shipping out with the tyke tomorrow once Ratchet and Wheeljack have finished making a wearable holoform generator to hide the kids… Cybertronian accessories." He announced, before fully taking in the Predacons downcast and solemn look. "Qwezel?"

The weapons specialist could actually hear the Predacon swallow air.

That, was not good.

Before he could ask again, Qwezel spoke again. "The device will be delayed, Ratchet is needed."

Ironhide was quick to rush to Qwezel's side as he shifted, allowing Novalight to slide limp out of his mane and into their arms of their adoptive sire.

Ironhide was half turned to rush the limp Seeker back to the med bay when Qwezel spoke again.

"How old was she when you found her?"

Ironhide froze, thrown by the odd question. "Just before she turned seven vorns if memory serves… why?" The black mech did not like how the Predacon winced, and a low, almost unnoticeable growl left him.

"What became of her original creators?"

Ironhide was really getting concerned now, Chromia, Bumblebee and Solardancer were all quick to pick up on it, the former already rushing across the tarmac to the edge of the base where Qwezel and Ironhide now stood.

"They… they perished in a Skyscraper collapse… no one told you? She saw the rest of her family unit get slaughtered by cons on street level…"

This time, the Predacon hissed, his massive tail lashing upwards before crashing down, the tarmac shattering under the sudden impact, causing Ironhide to do a double take and step back.

Chromia then arrived, taking in the sight and getting between her mate, her daughter, and her son. "What's going on?!"

Qwezel remained still for a moment, inventing and exventing a few times to calm himself, before speaking again, his normally low tone dropping even further into one of malice.

"I have just learnt… that I cannot rip her creators sparks from their half crushed corpses."

Chromia was the one to speak. "Why would you do that?!"

Another longer invent and exvent.

"Because I have come… to the conclusion… or at least, estimated assumption… that they either allowed or they themselves, maybe the carrier, maybe the sire, the defilement of youth upon their own energon and armour."

He watched as the realisation struck his adoptive creators and his and their gaze snapped down to the limp tri-colour seeker.

"Nova…" Chromia's servos came to cover her mouth.

Ironhide's hold on his daughter tightened, holding her even closer to his frame. "My daughter…"

Qwezel nodded before speaking the words he would likely never be able to forget in his long existence.

"Has subconsciously been repressing the memories of her youth… to protect herself from the reality that… at some point before you took her in… they raped her."

* * *

 **I've really been torn about posting this, given the content revealed, but I believe that this is something which was inevitable given that I've been laying the groundwork for this ever since the very first few chapters. More details will come in the following chapters, but for now, I leave you with this partial cliffhanger, until next I post.**

 **Moon**


	26. Reaction

**After the last chapter, I think you all deserve to know the truth, which you must read the entire chapter to understand fully, so no skipping to the end for the big reveal! There's some really touching moments and a lot of other scrap before that! Now then, hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 26**

Word traveled fast.

Within the hour you'd be hard pressed to find a lieutenant who hadn't heard of the Predacon's jarring reveal in regards to the bases resident long standing wild card.

The news had been broken to the twins by Bumblebee, who'd been quick to track down the two mechs and solemnly explain the situation as best as he could with only radio clippings.

They'd arrived at the medbay just as Ratchet finished up checking her over with his scanners.

The medics expression was somber, turning to regard those who were present, Optimus, Ironhide, Chromia, Bumblebee, Solardancer, Qwezel (whom was hovering in the doorframe) and now the twins themselves.

The CMO vented before he spoke. "Qwezel was right… it's old, but there's clear evidence of untreated tearing, suggesting coupling with a far, far larger individual, it's honestly a miracle her ability to walk wasn't impeded…"

Chromia cut him off. "How old? How old was she Ratchet?"

Ratchet shook his helm. "The most recent was… by my calculations, just before you found her… but there's evidence that that was hardly the first incident… for all I know… I don't even want to think about this anymore…" The medic looked haunted as he shook his helm as if that would help remove the thoughts now plaguing him, as did the rest of those present. "I can't believe I missed this… I've performed thousands of checks on her over the vorns… yet I never considered…"

"Old friend, do not judge yourself so heavily, not even Novalight knew, this is something that none of us ever wished to think of, so we did not, and so, it slipped past all of us." Optimus stated, trying to soothe his old friend.

"But it was my job to make sure that all Autobots under my care are fully functioning!" Ratchet ranted, waving to the seeker as she lay on her side on the same medical berth she'd left not even three hours earlier.

A huff from Qwezel drew their attention. "Perhaps this would be a better conversation somewhere where your vocal outbursts won't disrupt Nova's rest." He announced, gesturing with his muzzle to the grimace which had formed on the seekers features.

The group of Autobots were quick to agree, the majority moving past Qwezel.

He was just about to move himself when Sideswipe grabbed onto one of the large maroon plates which made up his side.

Turning his large helm down, he regarded the red mech. "Yes?"

Sideswipe sighed. "We caused these memories to resurface… didn't we?"

Qwezel's gaze flickered between the two mechs before he sighed and nodded.

The grimaces which took over the two mechs faces were pained.

Sunstreaker spoke then. "We… we… wouldn't of done any of that had we known… we realised too late we were pushing her too hard to go on to the next step with us."

After a bit of maneuvering, Qwezel managed to get his tail and the massive bladed plates at the end through the medbay doors and to wrap around the gold mech as best as he could. "Do not rebuke yourselves too hard, there was simply no telling… Now, we must be there for her, this could go one of two ways in general, one side she will become highly distressed like she was when her memories returned… or… as has been happening since the very beginning, this will just be another incident she will have no recollection of… in that situation, it would be best to preserve it and hide any inclination that we know the truth, after all, ignorance is bliss."

The twins exchanged a forlorn look before Sideswipe spoke. "So what? How the frag are we supposed to pretend like we don't know about this now… wait… this has happened before…" The mech trailed off, bringing his servo up to rub at the lower part of his faceplates, a human trait he'd apparently picked up, then, his digits snapped together. "I got it! Right before the first time me and Nova kissed! She told me she goes into this weird… state? Where she just blacks out in high stress situations and she just runs on this crazy autopilot! That's how she's such a beast in most battles!"

Qwezel tilted his helm to the side in thought. "I was not aware of that… she has no recollection of her conflicts?"

Sideswipe just shrugged whilst Sunstreaker responded. "This is probably the same thing… being… assaulted, by one's own creators like that… that's likely where the glitch comes from, as a defense mechanism, to just, forget everything…"

Qwezel nodded, unfurling his tail from around Sunstreaker and turning his gaze to the still open doors which were now completely blocked by his girth. "I will go alert the others to the hypothesis, you two remain here, com-link one of the others if she stirs."

With that he began shifting, trying his best to avoid knocking over too many things with his wings and body again as he tried to squeeze back out of the double doors.

The twins were there to catch most of what he knocked, wanting to at least limit some of the noise that the Predacon couldn't help but make when it came to simple motions of his gigantic frame.

Soon enough though, mostly thanks to his growing experience, the Predacon was able to slide back out and move down the wide corridor towards the rest of the Autobots.

With the unintentional wrecking ball no longer almost making a mess, the twins turned to one another, and then to their femme friend lying strewn out on the berth.

"She's never remembered a battle before…" Sideswipe mumbled. "What was different this time?"

"Maybe it's how old they are? The defenses holding them back are shifting to more current blackouts? Maybe there's a limit on what she can forget?" Sunstreaker offered, moving over on his wheeled pedes to lean against the wall next to Novalight's berth.

Sideswipe nodded and moved to take vigil on the other side of the berth. "Best mech to ask about that kind of stuff would be Perceptor."

"No one's heard from Perceptor since the Wreckers he was with went on that suicide mission to Urchila 9, so he's out of the question." Sunstreaker responded.

A huff from the berth cut them off as Novalight rolled somehow onto her front, burying her faceplates into the hard metal with a groan, but after that the soft vents of recharge were all that were heard.

Sighing, Sideswipe slowly eased himself down onto his aft. "We won't know what we're dealing with here until she wakes up…"

Sunstreaker nodded, though his twins new position prevented him from seeing, the bond between them was all that was needed to transmit the understanding between the twin mechs.

Sunstreaker soon mimicked his twins position, only resting his helm in his servo.

The day had been exhausting… a check of his internal chronometer revealed they'd been conscious for well over a human day solid, what with being called to California after a human female exploded and a human cybertronian hybrid infant was found at the scene.

By Primus it seemed like it had happened orns ago.

Too much had happened within the span of such a small time frame, Sideswipe agreed with him, and both were feeling the inevitable tug of recharge.

"We...we're meant… to… watch Nove…" Sideswipe mumbled, voice lethargic as his optics flickered and helm drooped.

Sunstreaker was already out cold, Sideswipe following soon after his sentence trailed off.

* * *

Not even an hour later, the femme on the berth moved, wings flicking before hiking up fully, optics cycling online and wide as they slowly pushed themselves up in the now dark medbay, their frame shook slightly as they rolled onto their side and hung their clawed pedes over the side of the berth, optics locking on the golden mech lying slumped against the wall in recharge.

They froze absolutely still for a moment before slowly easing themselves down, her clawed pedes making only slight clinking noises as they touched the ground.

She wasted no more time in bolting from the med bay.

It was only by sheer hapless chance that one of her claws hit a discarded human bucket, sending the poor, now dented, item clanging into a wall.

It was all the sound needed to jolt the twins into wakefulness.

But Novalight was already gone before either could so much as look up.

A startled shout from Sideswipe upon realising Novalight had bolted, was able to do what the bucket hadn't, wake the recharging Predacon lying coiled up in the corridor just to the left of the med bay doors.

His hell fire optics snapped open, spotting a flash of purple wing tip vanish behind the corner, like a snapped spring, his frame uncoiled and lunged forwards, panic quickly taking over his normally logical senses.

"Nova! Wait!"

The hanger doors buckled as he crashed through, due to the too narrow gap that they'd been left at. Very nearly coming off at the runners when his wings made contact, causing an almighty bang to echo throughout the moonlit base.

His frame coiled again once he was fully free, optics spotting the trails of smoke quickly vaporising on the horizon.

His frame went lax, there was no way his bulky form could ever catch up with her. In a rare moment of distress, the massive Predacon let off a keening sound, hanging his massive helm.

Sunstreaker arrived first at his side, followed swiftly by his twin who skidded to a stop just to his right, both spotting the trails of smoke themselves just as they completely vanished.

Noise was quickly erupting around base, any and all startled from their sleep and recharge by the ruckus.

None of the three standing there noticed, for all they knew, they were on some derelict plateau, empty of all life.

"Now what?" Sideswipe muttered, frame slumped and a dejected look on his faceplates.

Sunstreaker turned his helm up to Qwezel.

The Predacon didn't acknowledge the look, but let out a slow exvent. "Now… we wait… and pray she comes back…"

* * *

California

The sun was a good two hours from rising when she landed, her form transforming before she even hit the ground, legs giving out underneath her as she fell forwards without even the slightest noise, arms coming forwards to catch herself before she buried her faceplates into them, wings drooping and the hiking back up erratically.

The forest lay before her, even now, faint smoke rose into the air not far away, and the smell of charred wood and foliage was a pungent smell here now.

None of that mattered, her processors running faster than she'd ever flown as they tried to cope with what she'd discovered, or more accurately, remembered.

It was no use… it was too much… too, too much. Her processor was straining, her spark screaming inside its casing and thrashing erratically.

She couldn't hold back the agonised scream anymore as she completely caved, optics blurring with lubricant as her frame convulsed, she was low on energon… and no matter how much she heaved, nothing was coming out, nothing was making it go away, not the burning pain in her empty tanks, not the pain tearing her spark apart.

She barely had the sense to keep the bonds with her family sealed tight.

They didn't deserve feeling even a tenth of this.

They wouldn't be able to help. Another cry left her at the realisation, the volume fluctuating and frequency shifting erratically.

If they knew the full extent… they'd distance themselves… shun her… cut the bonds completely.

She couldn't… she couldn't let that happen again!

Some small part of her pleaded with her, telling her that Ironhide… Chromia… Qwezel, none of them, none of them would do what her creators did… they wouldn't sever ties… they wouldn't repeat it… again… and again… they wouldn't welcome her back to safety… then tear her apart again…

That small part of her went completely ignored.

As did the soft hand on her faceplates, wiping away the lubricant from her sealed tight optics, not even flinching away when her frame convulsed… when her mouth plates opened and her abdominal plating clenched painfully, trying to purge her empty tank.

Even when a second hand joined the effort, wiping away what they could.

Soft noises flitted to her audios, but they went ignored, passed off as some organic creature unphased by the Alien jet having a breakdown on an empty cliff.

"Suga belle… wha' happened honey bunch?"

Their form froze stiff, optics cycling open in a mix of shock and horror, the sudden voice jarring her from her self loathing for long enough to take in the human standing in front of her.

Steel silver hair, lilac shirt with a plunging neckline which went right down to the naval, a loose darker purple hoodie on top hanging loose from the shoulders.

The sunglasses they'd worn gone, too dark out to be functional, instead, bright, practically glowing hazel eyes stared into her wide blue optics.

Her vents stalled when she tried to cycle a vent. "A...Aska… W-w-what…. h-how?"

The woman just shushed her, running her hands up and down her lubricant streaked faceplates. "Came up here tah see wha' all tha hubbub was abou'... instea' I find yah cryin' yah spark out… don' worry, ah knew yah weren' human the momen' ah spotted yah." The woman tilted her head to the side with a weak smile.

Novalight's mouthplates hung open slightly, the lower lipplates wobbling before everything came rushing back and she was seizing up again, her vents straining to pull air in and causing a pained whistling sound to leave her as she began folding in on herself even tighter, armour rattling.

Then came the sound of transformation, the loss of feeling of the human hands, replaced by far larger, metallic ones which gently caressed the sides of her helm, slowly lifting it away from her arms towards the femme now crouched in front of her.

"Swee' li'l baby bear… who did this tah yah? Who broke yah spark?"

Novalight couldn't even begin to respond.

So, the femme shifted, running her servos over their helm, not touching her wings, knowing to keep away from the sensitive limbs, softly cooing as they pulled the larger femmes helm into her lap.

"Yah take all tha time yah need suga belle. Take all tha time yah need..."

* * *

The sun was cusping on the horizon when Novalight's whimper's finally petered out, exhausted as she lay in the unknown femmes lap, just taking in the feeling of having careful servos running over the armour of her helm.

"Who… who are you?"

"Ah… guess ah should'a seen tha' comin'... Don'... don' freak out or any of tha'... tha designation's Thunderblast."

Novalight's frame locked up again.

She was well aware of who Thunderblast was, she'd been to enough briefings about the Sea of Rust and it's most prolific femme tyrant.

The very femme she'd had her helm in the lap of for over two hours.

Her frame recoiled, rolling back in shock as she let out a startled shout.

Not a moment later, her back strut was stuck to the ground, her wings impaled into the soft earth, and the position gave her no leeway to push herself out.

That realisation came swiftly, a sharp intake quickly following as the dark purple and gold femme rose, before taking a step back?

"Honey belle, don' yah worry yah pretty li'l helm, ah ain'even gonna harm a flake of yah pain', cross mah spark and hope tah be struck down bah Primus himself!" Thunderblast announced, making a crossing motion over the center of her chassis with one of her clawed digits.

Novalight scowled, barring her denta at the femme for a moment before pulling her helm back as far as the ground below would allow.

The older femme just chuckled and held her servo out in offer. "Alrigh' then. Give me one good reason tah harm mah own energon and armour?"

Own… energon… and… armour?

It took a moment to register, but a moment later, she had Spitter aimed directly at the older femmes chassis, a borderline feral snarl leaving her vocaliser. "GE' AWA' FROM MEH YAH MONSTER!"

Thunderblast's expression became one of horror, jaw dropped as she stepped back in fright and shock, a servo raised to cover her lower faceplates. "D-darlin'..."

"NO! STAY AWA' FROM MEH!" Novalight's vents were quickly becoming ragged, her processor firing on all cylinders.

Why hadn't she noticed before? They were practically the same colours! The only difference being her white and lighter tint overall.

"I WILL NEVER LE' YOU TOUCH ME AGAIN CARRIER!"

Her pedes where kicking now, trying her hardest to pull herself out of the ground so that she could gain further distance.

It was no use, and she was witness to Thunderblast's expression going from shocked, to realisation.

"Suga… Do you… You thin' ah'm yah carrier?!"

It honestly didn't make sense, Qwezel told her that he had met her carrier for a brief moment in the well, but that could've been anybody, the spark could of thought he was being drawn to someone else.

"Honey…Yah carrier offlined on the table she birthed you on! Ah saw it with mah own optics! Ah'm yah Aunt! She never even go' tah hold yah before they killed her!" Those words seemed to physically hurt her as she wrapped her arms around her abdominal plating. "Ah don' know wha' makes you thin' she ever harmed yah… but… but yah wron'!... Mah li'l sister couldn' even hurt a scraplet! Let alone the sparklin' she sung tah every luna' cycle!" Lubricant was pooling under the older femmes optics now.

Spitter's sights lowered as Novalight's optics cycled and took in the sight before her, her processor reeling at the new information.

Her carrier… was… murdered? The notion of this all being a deception wasn't even thought of, no Decepticon, no mater how good, couldn't act like that.

Thunderblast seemed to pick up on the question in her optics. "They… they wanted tah use yah… make yah into a weapon… they though' bondin' with her would make yah weaker… more susceptible tah 'emotional corruption' so the moment they had yah…" A visible shudder went down the older femmes frame. "They… they put a round… right' through her spark… ah still hear her scream sometimes… Oh Primus have mercy if I don't see her smoulderin' chassis every time ah try and close mah optics! When it happened… Primus yah let off a cry so loud… yah'd already been a good way to formin' tha bond…" The older femmes pedes slowly gave way, leaving her to slump back down to the earth on her knees, one servo clutching at a fist full of earth and the other clutching the armour over her chassis. "No' once did ah ever thin' I coul' still lose her… Tha' was tha deal… ah joined their fraggin' ranks tah keep her alive… they said they'd let her go once yah were born… I never though' they meant let her go to tha Well…"

Novalight just stared at the femme before her, slowly she manged to push herself out of the dirt and into a position with her arms and servos propping herself up.

"But… I had… a carrier… they…."

Thunderblast shook her helm.

"They weren' yah creators suga belle… they were two of Starscreams lakeys, told tah make sure yah stayed alive as insurance to make sure me and yah sire never dare' step outta line…"

Novalight's helm dropped, for some reason that revelation didn't help, it made it worse… her creators were never even able to raise her, instead she was… violated… by two Cons who just used her as a toy…

Wait… Thunderblast just mentioned her sire…

Her helm shot back up. "My... sire?"

Thunderblast nodded. "Yeah… mah brotha in law, though it was never made official… he's been kept under lock and key for… Primus… the beginning of the war? That was after he went and nearly offlined Megatron when he but that round through yah carriers chassis, they never bonded… they were captured and held separate before they could… meant he didn't snuff when he lost the love of his life… he's a brilliant mech… processor like a scraplets jaw, that's why Megatron ordered he be kept held, even after very nearly getting offed himself by yah sire… Heh heh… From wha' ah'v seen… though it ain' much… yah take afta yah papa more than yah mama… she was tha sweetest li'l oil puff this side ah tha Universe… They… they hur' yah… didn' they…? The grunts tha' were tol' tah look afta yah? Tha's why yah go' violen' there?" Thunderblast then reached out, though their reach was nowhere close enough to actually touch Novalight.

The seeker still flinched back, pedes tucking that bit closer together in front of her.

That was all Thunderblast needed to know for a furious snarl to leave her.

"Imma kill um… ah mah fin' those damn scraplet fraggin' petro hound glitches, ah mah pull them righ' outta tha Well if ah fraggin' have tah, and imma rake their protoforms until their ribbons on tha groun'! YAH HERE ME PRIMUS! YOU BETTER LE' ME BRIN' THOSE SONS OF GLITCHES BACK TAH LIFE SO I CAN KILL'EM PERSONALLY!" She shouted towards the heavens above, brandishing her fist.

Then her helm snapped back and a soft, placating look quickly replaced the one of fury. "Now don' yah worry yah poor li'l spark there suga plum, auntie Thunderblast is gonna take care of this, even if ah gotta cut off some mechhoods to do so." She got up, walked forwards, and before Nova could react, had pulled her up into a very nearly crushing hug. "When this whole scrap is ova, Imma be tha bes' aunt tah yah ever, now I hear yah've had a lot so ah got mah work cut out for me, but nothing beats blood right!?"

"Uh… uh… uh?" Was all the younger seeker could respond with.

Thunderblast pushed her away by the shoulders until she was out at arms length. "When me and yah papa are finally outa tha cons, we're comin' righ' tah yah, yah papa ain't gonna allow no breaks… oh, by tha by, he found out abou' yah datin' two mechs, Imma hella proud of yah, but I thin' it' be wise for yah tah go hide them on some very, very, very far away moon, yah papa's less ecstatic about yah havin' tha arms ah two mechs… Nova… when… when yah papa get's out, don' freak out ok?"

Novalight just tilted her head to the side slightly, not quite sure she was okay with where this was going. "You're not making any sense… who… who is my sire? If it's not… them… then who is it?"

Thunderblast paused for a moment, pulling her lower lipplates into her mouth to chew on, before gazing around quickly before leaning in.

"... Yah Papa's designation is… Now, don't freak out, ah now ah already said tha', but the cons threw a lot of nasty scrap towards the Autobots to make him seem like one of them to not raise suspicion… not that it was ever actually him on the battlefield… damn Makeshift…"

Novalight huffed. "Just tell me! If I can't handle it! I'll… I'll… I'll just forget it! Like everything!"

A look then took over Thunderblasts faceplates that the tri-colour seeker couldn't even begin to place.

"Primus above… don' say stuff like tha'... if yah papa heard tha'... he'd be spark broken…"

"Just… tell… me." Novalight pressed, staring into the golden optics of her newly discovered aunt.

Thunderblast nodded, took a deep exvent before leaning in and whispering into Novalight's concealed audio.

"Thundercracker. Yah Papa's designation, is Thundercracker… me an him ain't related outside of yah momma, just happen' tha' way…"

Novalight's body, for nth amount of times that early morning, locked up, optics cycling wide.

Thunderblast pulled herself away, running her servos down the sides of the taller seekers faceplates before turning and breaking into a sprint, transforming once she'd entered the forest and disappeared quickly from view.

For a solid two minutes, the world seemed to of been put on mute.

Only to be broken by likely the loudest exclamation/shout to ever leave Novalight's voice box.

"WHAT?!"

* * *

 **SURPRISE! I debated for a really, really long time who Nova's sire should be, but, in the end, I settled on Thundercracker, well, I hoped you all enjoyed! Until next time! Bye!**

 **Moon**


	27. Coming to terms

**Ton of good news! (I haven't been able to update recently so there's a lot) I passed all my exams and got accepted into the Uni I wanted! The one four hours from home... but I finished moving in yesterday and what do I do one my week of Freshers?! Binge write this chapter because by Primus I have not had any free time between the day of my results and now for writing! Mostly because things like preparing to live in halls is crazy. Anyway, this little chapter was only a few hundred words long Yesterday morning, now it's over FIVE THOUSAND! (Dragon Ball Z(?) joke for one of my very closest friends) Damn my fingers feel like their on fire... hopefully I can keep this up! Oh and don't think that last chapter was the only M rating worthy chapter you're gonna get, cause this one almost went their without me realising it. Anyway! Big things happening in this one! And a few interesting things revealed and hinted at! So keep your eyes open!**

 **Can you tell I'm excited?**

 **I got the courses I wanted! Amazing people to live with! And in one of the most _Beautiful_ cities in the country! I am not saying which though. Don't need no stalkers or something crazy like that.**

 **Anyway, I've yammered on here long enough, let's go! Hope you all enjoy!**

 **Also I really shouldn't of let that cliff hanger well, hang so long, my bad! Wasn't intentional!**

* * *

Mikaela groaned as the doorbell continued it's nigh unending assault on her ears, at five in the bloody morning.

"I swear… 'yawn'... if someone ain't dying… 'yawn'... someone will be…" The teen grumbled, rubbing at her eyes furiously as she grabbed the door handle, unlocked it, and swung it open. "What the hell!? It's five in the…. Nova?!"

The sight of her guardians dishevelled holoform had startled her, having hardly considered in her sleepy state that the early wake up had to do with said Cybertronian.

The holoform didn't look at her, head down and eyes dazedly staring at the ground.

"...Hey." Their voice was barely over a whisper and almost immediately alarm bells were going off in Mikaela's head, without thinking on it for another moment, she grabbed the clearly out of sorts holoform by the arm and dragged them inside.

After placing the practically unresponsive holoform in front of the sofa, Mikaela rushed to her small kitchen and put the kettle on, knowing a shot of Caffeine was going to be necessary before going back out into the equally small living room.

Only to watch Nova teeter before face planting onto the cushions, the lower half of the holoform landing on the floor.

"Nova? You… ok?"

"I'm questioning the value of my existence…."

That didn't really help her understand what was wrong.

Swallowing a lump in her throat she stepped over and pushed at Novalight's head so that there was enough space for her to sit on the small sofa. "There a reason for this? Does this have to do with Honey? I know Poppy was a lot but I doubt that even she is the cause of this…" She poked the holoforms head for emphasis.

The holoform in response let off a noncommittal grunt, hand uselessly trying to bat her away.

There was a long silence after that, sighing, Mikaela swayed her body slightly before dropping her full weight onto the back of the holoform, elating a started sqwuark that wouldn't be out of place coming from a Parrot.

"Hey!"

"I'm not moving till you tell me what happened."

"... Mikaela, my holoform has the same strength capacity as my actual form, you really think it's your physical weight holding me down?"

"That's the most you've said so far, so my method is working. Also, if you have the strength, why not just move me?"

Novalight just buried her head into the pillows and groaned.

"Is this about the twins? Did they try and push you again?"

She felt the holoform underneath her shudder, thinking she hit gold she opened her mouth again, only to be cut off.

"It's got nothing to do with them."

"Bumblebee?"

"No."

"Qwezel? Did he get struck by lightning again?"

"No and hell no, we're never flying in a cyclone again."

"Doesn't have to be a cyclone to get struck by lighting, Solardancer?"

"Fair point and no."

"Errr… Optimus?"

"No."

"Ratchet?"

"No."

"Human politics?"

"When the holy frag do I pay attention to that mess? Gives me a helmache even thinking about it… ugh… it's not any of them… it's… Mikaela, you know I'm adopted right?"

There was a brief moment of pause as Mikaela seemed to think the question over. "Not until now no… wait, so you're not Ironhide and Chromia's kid? Huh, never really noticed."

Novalight turned her holoforms head far enough to give Mikaela an incredulous look.

"You didn't notice the fact that I'm the only Seeker in the family. Nor do I bare remotely the same colours?" It was a statement more than a question.

"I'll take 'seeker' as the term to define those who can fly. And Ironhides got red on him, and Chromia's got blue... I just thought you were a mix of those colours and what ever grand parent Bumblebee's colours come from."

"Apt assumption. But Bee's also adopted."

"Ah... huh. So, what? Why is that suddenly a big thing?"

Novalight's head re-buried itself in the pillow.

"Nova, c'mon, you can't bottle this up if it's causing you to be so distressed." Mikaela pressed, deciding to try and rub some of the tension out of Novalight's shoulders, which she realised were surprisingly wide now that she paid attention to them. At that moment the kettle whistled it's completion, but it went ignored.

After only a few firm drags of her knuckles, the holoform had practically become putty, a blissful groan coming out of the holoform from in the pillow.

Seeing that she was getting somewhere, Mikaela continued, trying to work through the countless muscle knots she was finding.

Did cybertronians even get the equivalent of muscle knots?

That was when she realised that the back of Novalight's top was covered in and earthy stain."Damn, you go rolling in mud or something?"

"Ugh… something like that… could you keep doing that? That felt real nice…."

"Err, ok, top off first though, holoform or not, it's a bit weird massaging a dirty top." Mikaela responded, tugging at the hem.

She was kinda curious to see what Novalight's back looked like, how did the holoform translate wings on a human?

Novalight grumbled at having to move after being so lax, but with one swift motion, managed to pull the fabric off and toss it aside and onto the floor, where it vanished in a flurry of pixels.

Rolling onto her back under Mikaela she gave the human teen a look. "Better?"

Mikaela's response was to slap her hands over her eyes and shout at her. "Why aren't you wearing a bra?!"

"... A what?! And why do you have to shout about that?!"

Mikaela dropped her hands to respond but paused, diverting her eyes and setting her mind to work.

Novalight was an Alien, from a Planet Galaxies away, made of metal, why would they need something like a bra? … She killed that thought before it went any further.

"Miki? What's all this damn - holy shit! Why is there a topless stranger in here?!"

Mikaela and Novalight froze stiff, their heads slowly turning to face her recently out of jail father standing there with his own hands covering his eyes.

"This… is not how I expected to meet you father Miki."

* * *

One long and complicated hour of explanation and wardrobe plundering later.

"So… you're an Alien."

"Yes."

"An Alien robot who's currently parked in the middle of the road because you couldn't find a parking space."

"Technically I'm too big for a normal parking space, but yes. So if your neighbour decides to pull out, I'll start cursing because that's my frontal landing gear in the way."

"...And you're invisible."

"Yes my cloak is engaged."

Mikaela's father sighed, running a palm down the side of his head, carding through his salt and pepper hair. "It's really too early in the morning for this." He remarked.

Novalight shrugged. "Sorry about that… but… I really needed to… work something out… earlier this morning I found out something that's pretty much turned my entire life and existence on its head and I… I don't know what to do…" Her voice cracked at the admittance as her head dropped, staring at her palms as they rested in the cradle of her crossed legs.

Mikaela reached out, resting her hand on the holoforms shoulder. "What happened?"

Novalight bit her bottom lip. "I… memories from my sparkling and youngling hood resurfaced… I don't know why they suddenly did, maybe it was the stress I was going through… or something but… I… I discovered some… disturbing truths…"

Mikaela's grip didn't waver, and her father's gaze had become an odd mix of encouragement and support as he regarded the holoform. "Better to let it out then bottle it up." He remarked.

Novalight huffed out a strained laugh. "The Cybertronians I thought were my Sire and Carrier all my life… the ones I thought perished during the fall of Crystal City… they weren't my creators… they were Cons… grunts meant to 'keep me alive'... and turns out… they… they… oh Primus." She trailed off, bringing a hand to cover her mouth as her actual frame began the process of purging, she managed to fight it back though and shook the sensation off with a shake of her head, taking in a long, shuddering breath to resort her feelings she pressed on. "They… had their way with me… when I was just a Sparkling…"

The two humans stared at the holoform for a moment before realisation dawned on them, Mikaela's father let off a less than pleasant curse as Mikaela managed to pull Novalight into a tight hug from her hold on the holoforms shoulder, her free hand moving to their lower back to hold them in place as the holoform began shaking, whimpers leaving their trembling lips as she buried her head into Mikaela's shoulder, her own arms winding around the human to hold them in a near crushing grip.

With one especially loud keen, the flood gates opened once more and Mikaela felt a strange sensation form on her shoulder, it felt like tears, but not a moment after hitting her shoulder, they seemed to evaporate into nothing but pixels which quickly faded out of existence.

For a few minutes, the three beings just held themselves like that, Mikaela's hand moving up and down on Novalight's back as she continued to hold the holoform, and her father watching from over his daughters shoulder, torn between being fascinated at how advanced such a projection was to create tears, wanting to rage up a storm at the revelation of this person, whom he barely knew honestly, having been so scarred by such a past, and wanting to aid in comforting the holoform, but not knowing how.

After a few more moments, Novalight pushed herself away from Mikaela's dry shoulder and took in another deep breath as she moved to wipe away what had trailed down her cheeks. "But… that's not even the kicker." She remarked ruefully.

Mikaela's held tilted to the side slightly, not really sure she wanted to know, yet her curiosity was a more powerful force than her trepidation, so, she asked. "What else did you find out?"

Novalight paused for a moment before sighing. "A few things actually… these aren't from my memories though… when I… remembered what happened… I fled Diego Garcia, wanting to be alone to vent out all my anguish and frustration… so… I went back to where the woman exploded…" She paused noticing John's look of horror. "I'll explain later, anyway, I went there, screamed my vents out till I could barely think straight… then found myself in the presence of a femme… a Decepticon named Thunderblast."

Mikaela sucked in a sharp breath, opening her mouth but Novalight cut her off by raising her hand for silence. "She didn't hurt me… she actually… comforted me… even let me rest my helm in her lap whilst I worked through everything…"Novalight began her recounting of her experience with the femme who so resolutely announced herself as the seekers aunt.

The two humans remained near silent, Mikaela letting off the odd murmur and gasp, and her father trying his best to be civil whilst cursing off the faction he had only recently been told existed, his opinion of these 'Decepticons' souring greatly at the revelations that Novalight brought forth.

"... Then… she told me… the designation of my sire… and… I really don't know how to deal with this knowledge." She muttered in admittance, bowing her head once again.

The two humans glanced to one another in concern as Novalight took in a shuddering breath.

"Thunderblast claimed… that my sire is the Decepticon Second in Command, Starscream's trine mate, Thundercracker… and that he, instead of being at the SIC's side, has been imprisoned by the Decepticons since the beginning of the war… held against his will and forced to create things for them… that's all I was told by her before she up and left… I came here right after… I still feel so numb…" She muttered, her arms coming up to embrace herself.

"My God…" Mikaela muttered.

Her father sighed. "That's… that's one hell of a revelation, hey pumpkin?"

* * *

Somewhere in an underground labyrinth under Mexico

Thunderblast cursed to herself internally as she strode down the claustrophobic narrow tunnels of the Decepticon base, she hated coming here, it was dank, dark, cramped and wet, droplets of stony water constantly falling from the ceiling no matter how many times one of the bigger lugs snapped all the formations off in their aggravation.

She was far happier when she was out on the road exploring and scouting out the organic planet, and given she was supposed to have a water attributed frame, that was saying something about the conditions Starscream, the moronic fool, forced them to live in.

"Ah, it would seem my favourite water skipper has returned." The raspy growl came from one of the junctions she'd just walked past, gritting her denta to prevent outright exploding on their de facto leader, Thunderblast turned a livid glare upon the seeker whom quickly shuffled back slightly after taking a step into the dim light.

"Trust meh, ah ain' gonna stay here lon', ah'd rather drink tar then stay in this ra' infeste' slum any longa than ah had tah." She snapped back, before smirking. "Not that yah 'blessed' face plates aren' an equally vile deterren' tah keep meh away." She spat.

The hiss the large seeker let off in response causing the smirk to grow that bit wider.

"One cycle femme, you will learn your place." He hissed back, a rock was pulled out of the shadow enveloped wall and crushed.

"Oooh, ahm mighty terrified! Oh Primus! Safe meh from this unsightly mech!" She cried out in mock terror, clutching her chassis and reaching for the ceiling of the tunnel with her other servo before dropping them both to her hipplates. "Only mech ah ever feared was ol' bucket helm, an' last ah checked, tah humans dumped his aft down intoa tha' abyss. So yah ah gonna have tah try ah damn sight harder tah ge' even a shudda outta meh, besides, ahm in _too_ _foul_ ah _mood_ tah be dealin' with yah scrap no more, ahm here tah see Thundacracker, not those faceplates mah niece re-modeled for yah with her flamethrowa." She announced pointedly.

Starscream hissed in response and lunged out into the light, his servo snapping out and latching onto her neckcables and slamming her into the opposite wall.

Thrown by the sudden attack Thunderblast gasped, her clawed servos latching onto the far larger seekers arm and wrist as she was pinned to the caves damp wall as her neckcables were constricted, leaving her vents straining.

The half molten faceplates she'd just insulted were practically touching her own a moment later, livid red optics glaring into her own gold.

"You whore." The seeker hissed, very nearly crushing the femmes neck cables as he pressed down further in emphasis, easily holding her pinned and him out of range of her flailing pedes.

Despite herself, Thunderblast glared and spat some oral lubricant straight into the malformed cavity which led to the seekers equally damaged optic. Before hissing out. "Better ah whore than ah cave dwellin' _ra'_!" She screeched back.

Starscream let off a pained near howl at the sudden pain in his optic, dropping Thunderblast long enough for her to get back to her pedes and shift her right servo into a moderately sized cannon, aiming it directly at the half molten plates which covered the seekers chassis, holding her aim as she slowly edged further down the tunnel, trying to put distance between her and the damaged seeker.

Snarling Starscream swung at her blindly, almost catching her with the tips of his claws.

"Drop your weapon you piece of slag!" He snarled.

She let off a chuckle that was more than a little shaky as she took a step back. "Can' really do that yah kno' kinda attached to me." She remarked back, waving the transformed cannon slightly for emphasis.

That didn't mean her guard was dropped anywhere near enough for the seekers next blind swipe to land a mark on her frame.

Starscream was practically spitting in his seething rage as he lunged once again, letting off a harrowing below.

This time, he was too quick to dodge.

With a startled cry, she was knocked to the ground, the seekers far greater weight dropping down onto her a moment later, pinning her in place as she tried her hardest to kick the mech off, her cannon already pinned to the floor by one of his massive servos.

A moment later, the seekers lethal claws wrapped around her neckcables, squeezing even tighter than before leaving the femmes vents straining to pull in the air needed to cool her systems.

"I said, drop your weapon."

After a moment of hesitation, Thunderblast relented, shifting her servo back from it's cannon form.

The smirk the seeker looming over her gave when he watched this put a shudder down her back strut.

"And now… to make you pay for that insubordina- aak!"

Starscream's taunt was cut off quite abruptly by something, a pede to be precise, crashing into him from behind and sending him lurching to the side in a dazed state.

Her neckcables suddenly freed, Thunderblast was able to suck in a much needed gasp before pushing herself to roll onto her side away from the deranged mech that had attacked her, when a servo came down to rest on her shoulder, she glanced up at her saviour.

"Thunda…"

Thundercracker was kneeling next to her, red optics running over her form, checking for any injuries she could of sustained from the sudden attack.

Her attention was more focused on the arks electricity assaulting his neckcables.

"Yah shouldn' ah done tha'." She mumbled. "Tha colla'..."

"I'm used to it… Come, before he gets up…" Was the large mechs only response before he was pulling her up onto unstable pedes and pulling one of her arms over his shoulderplates as best he could to support her.

He'd only just taken a step when a sudden and far more potent jolt assaulted him, causing him to cry out and crash to the floor of the cave with a groan, bringing Thunderblast down with him as he collapsed in a fit of electrical spasms. Thunderblast was forced to crawl away, the powerful arcs of electricity having struck her as well due to their contact.

"THUNDA!"

After a moment, the large mech managed to lift his own helm, and send a livid glare upon the mech holding an all too familiar controler.

Starscream just smirked, pulling one pede back before delivering a brutal kick to the downed mechs abdominal platings. "You." Another kick, even harder, causing the seeker at his pedes to gasp and try to curl up to hide his damaged middle. "Should." The attempt was thwarted when another kick landed against his faceplates, snapping his helm back and against the wall of the cave. "Stay." By this point Thunderblast was scrambling to get up, to defend her downed almost brother, only for Starscream to deliver a harsh back hand across her face plates, knocking her back to the ground, before turning his gaze back to the mech trying to push himself up at his pedes, those red optics burning with a hatred that made the smirk on the seekers molten faceplates become just that bit more deranged as he leaned down, and raked his claws up one of the blue, white and red mechs wings. "Down."

The smirk died when no scream of pain came, not a single sound of discomfort.

Instead of crying out, Thundercracker lunged, delivering a brutal right hook to the slightly smaller seeker's faceplates, knocking the mech hard onto his aft.

Not a moment later, another blow was struck, and another, and another, until Starscream no longer so much as twitched, helm slammed into a now widened crack in the floor.

Vents labouring, Thundercracker fell back into a crouch energon coated fists dropping to the ground surrounding him.

Thunderblast, having been frozen in place by the display, slowly got up, tentatively shuffling closer to the mech who'd just saved her from something she did not want to consider.

"Thunda?" She muttered, reaching out to touch the vent inlets on the side of the mechs helm.

He flinched back from the touch, hissing not to her, but in pain.

A moment later, she spotted the drizzling energon slowly leaking from around the collar tied tight around his neck cables, the electrical arcs causing small little puffs of smoke as it meet with the slowly forming drizzles.

"Thunda… we need tah get outta here… before anybot comes fah us!" She hissed back in a whisper, going to pull at his arm to get him to stand up.

Thundercracker didn't try to get up, instead, lifting his servo to gesture at his unresponsive adversary.

Turning her gaze she spotted the little controller, it was almost comical how small it was in Starscreams massive servo.

She got the message, letting go she cautiously stepped closer to the unconscious seeker, and after a moment's hesitation, crouched down to pry the device free, finding only slight resistance before pulling the damned device loose.

Quickly moving back over, she pushed the device into his far larger servos.

With a skill not fitting a mech still being electrocuted, a device was pulled from a gap between two of plates in his servo, and connected to the device by a cluster of screw like spikes, which drilled through the larger devices casing and held fast.

A moment later, a ping was heard, and the arcs of electricity suddenly stopped.

The ragged vent that left him next seemed to be one he had kept within him for millenia.

Thunderblast's optics lit up, her servos reaching out to grasp the collar, only for Thundercracker's servos to catch them, easily wrapping around both and halting their progress.

"No… don't… please..."

"Thunda if yah leave tha' damned thing on, Soundwave or any otha mech could turn it righ' back on! It's go' ah tracka on it tah boot!" She pressed, desperate to help him in some way, pulling her entrapped servos to try and get them free.

"The device is preventing that, blocking all over signals... I made sure... the collar can't come off… one of the spikes is jammed right through my main Energon line... Take it off… and I'll bleed out before I can even see the sky again…"

Thunderblast's attempts faltered outright then. "No… Thunda… tha'... tha's not righ'"

"They _murdered_ my beloved… what guilt would they have adding rust to my wounds?"

"Why'd yah neva tell meh tha colla was that deep?!"

"There's no time for arguing now… we must… we must make it to the Autobot base… If they hold any compassion towards Decepticons… they might just help… and if not… then at least I'll see by daughter one last time... before they put me out of my misery." He mumbled.

Thunderblast paused, having been moving to help him stand again. "Thunda… there's… there's somethin' ah gotta… tell yah… but first… there's no way yah makin' it ova tha Pacific as yah are! Which… is probably a good thin'..." She trailed off.

Thundercracker turned to her, using her numbed support to help himself to his heavy pedes. "What happened Thunderblast… what has transpired?"

After a moment, Thunderblast took a long, shuddering sigh. "Nova's in California righ' now… ah found her.. It's why ah came here… tah tell yah… she needs her papa… Primus she's… she's hurtin'... an' hurtin' real bad… damn well broke mah spark to see her cryin' her vents ou' like tha'..." She ducked her helm to the side, resting one arm over the other around her middle.

When silence answered her, she tentatively raised her gaze back up, finding that expression he bore was one of speechless horror, his lower jaw hanging slightly as his optics cycled, those red pools which had only recently harboured boundless rage, now expressed a mortified shock she'd not seen since those first cycles after Novalight came into the world, and she lost her sister.

"T-Thunda?"

Her tentative call seemed to jolt him back to reality as his servos clenched into shaking fists.

"If those damned Twins broke her spark, I'm breaking their fragging back struts!" He nearly roared as he grabbed her by the servo and began storming back the way Thunderblast had come, towards the exit.

"Thunda! Holy slag slow down!" Thunderblast called, having to sprint to try and keep up with his far longer strides.

His reaction was to simply yank her forwards with such force her pedes left the ground, swinging her forwards so that when gravity took back over, she landed firmly between his arms in a bridal carry.

Then, he was sprinting.

After a dazed moment of coming to terms with her sudden relocation, Thunderblast came to the conclusion that she would tell Thundercracker the real reason for his daughter's distress, when they were about three clicks away from wherever the frag in California she'd potentially gone after her little fact dump and bolt.

The further away from Starscream's comatose form they were, the less likely Thundercracker was to go right back into this Pit hole to outright kill the current Decepticon leader, risking his re-capture.

Her thoughts were promptly interrupted by Thundercracker coming to a sudden halt.

And the sound of a canon powering up ahead of them.

Turning her helm ahead of them, she felt her spark drop.

Barricade blocked their way, the entrance just beyond.

The former Kaonian Enforcers burning red optics flicked between her gold and to Thundercracker's own red, which now burned with a determination that few could match.

Then, Barricade was lowering his cannon back to his side, shifting back into his own servo.

"You were gone before I returned from Patrol." He announced, stepping to the side. "I never supported what they did." He explained, gesturing with his servo to the open sky beyond.

The surprise in their expressions was something the former enforcer easily picked upon.

"And if you see Prowl… tell him I'm sorry… Had I known what I was joining… I wouldn't of left him behind."

Personally speechless, Thunderblast barely noticed as Thundercracker set her down once again on her own pedes, and made his way towards the exit, and the Decepticon letting them go.

She watched him drop a servo on the smaller mechs shoulder plating. "Come with us."

"I can't… there is too much bad energon between us now… Go, at least you have a chance of making amends…" The mech admitted, turning his gaze down towards the tunnel. "Don't stall on my behalf."

Nodding, Thundercracker turned back to Thunderblast, gesturing with a flick of his servo for her to follow.

After a moment of regarding the mech herself, she was quick to join Thundercracker's side, passing Baricade and sending the mech a thankful look.

"We never saw you, you never saw us." She re-iterated, more to herself that Baricade.

The black and white mech just nodded, turned away from them, and walked into the tunnel, sending them a lofty human like salute over his shoulder plating before blending into the darkness.

Before she even had a chance to turn back to the open world ahead of her, Thundercracker had her servo in his once again and was pulling her along. "We need to move."

She went to ask why he didn't just transform, when the daylight gave her the answer for her.

His wing was half hanging off, the tears where Starscream had raked his claws leaving little to keep more than half the wing attached.

"Thunda…"

"I've turned off my pain receptors. The humans border is not far, we walk, and we try not to get spotted."

"Thunda… stop…"

He did, turning to look at her.

"Thunderblast.."

"Yah injured… bad, an' no' just yah neck an wing either… yah limpin'... yah abdominal platin's all buckled… and yah helms got ah nasty den' in it… not tah mention all that rust in yah joints from yah lack of movemen'… that kinda trek ain' healthy… Ah ain' gonna let yah haul yah beaten aft that far when yah hardly standin'! Sis woul' have mah helm if she knew ah le' yah go so far! A punctured neck's one thin', but everythin'? No!" She listed off, stamping her heeled pede for emphasis of her point.

Thundercracker just stared at her, optics cycling.

Muttering a less than pleasant to the ear curse under her vents, Thunderblast turned her attention to the Mountains on the horizon. "There's ah human town, half abandoned… on tha other side ah those mountains… tha's as far as ah'll let yah go, from there, I'm gonna go ge' Nova, and bring her tah yah… Hopefully she's willin' tah come… Maybe call the Autobots to get help gettin' yah tah Deigo... Maybe."

"What… what did you tell her?"

"Yah damn designation fah starters! An' tha' fact tha' yah love her more than yah own damn spark!" She exclaimed, stomping ahead of the near dumbstruck mech. "Of course tha' shocked tha life outta her an ah had tah haul aft so she didn' try an' re-model meh like she did Screecher back d'here! Now ge' tha massive aft ah yahs movin'! Before tha nex' con shows up an' ain' so happy tah let us go withou' ah fire figh'!"

She kept going, and only glanced back when she heard the heavy pede steps of Thundercracker following behind her.

In the daylight, he truly did look like a sorry sight, paint faded and chipped, armour hanging loosely off a protoform far too malnourished for it to be healthy, rattling with each jarring step and muted grinding of rusting joints. The fact that there was literally small stalagmites forming on his upper armour and helm just gave testament to how long he'd been trapped down there by that collar and the Decepticons in general.

It's the first time she's seen him in any good lighting for vorns.

"Thunda, yah look like scrap."

"Given how I'm currently feeling, I'll take that as a compliment." He muttered back, his longer strides meaning he had already caught up.

A moment later, he was lightly cupping her jaw plates between two of his large claw tipped digits and turning her faceplates to look at him. "Though you are hardly in good condition." One of his digits made a feather light pass over the cracked plating where Starscream had back handed her.

Even with such a light touch, she still hissed as he tilted her helm up and stooped to investigate her neck cables.

"Yah no' ah medic."

"No, but I have a good enough understanding of our kinds anatomy to know that you require one as well as myself."

"Then yah admit yah ah sorry sigh'."

"Unfortunately… let us not discuss it… we must press on… though I do not feel comfortable about this idea… you going off on your own… now that I'm free…"

"Hey! Hey! If yah star' tryin' tah motha hen meh imma gut yah!" She snapped, batting his servo away.

"Mother henning?"

"Ah human phrase ah picked up! I' means bein' way too focuse' on worryin' an' no' on anythin' else! Leave I' fah Nova."

After that, they fell into silence, quickly making their way to the distant horizon, or at least, as quickly as they could.

"Hopefully word does not reach the Fallen too swiftly…"

"Don' remin' meh. Creep old bastar's leered at meh enough whenever he 'requeste' mah presence' fah his slaggin' calls."

"If all goes well, you'll never have to see him again. Oh and you sounded a lot like you carrier back there… gave me quite the traumatic flash back."

"Okay! You are just cruisin' fah ah bruisin'!"

"Another human term?"

"Wha' d'yah think?!"

"Definitely your carriers daughter."

* * *

 **Yay! More time with Nova's papa now that you know who he is! An le-gasp! What's this? Barricade and Prowl have 'bad energon' This was literally a spur of the moment thing to include so even I don't know where this ones going, where they friends? Lovers? Brothers? Bitter rivals? A mix of all but the relation one?! (Probably but we'll see)**

 **Also, Thunderblast isn't the easiest to write with this southern belle accent I've given her, I think it suits her, but man... always remembering to abrivate slows me down a bit.**

 **Any ho, next time will hopefully come sooner! And who knows, I might just give you Nova and old Cracker meeting! ... The likelihood of that ain't very high... sorry, but it's coming soon enough!**

 **Oh and Nova's gonna be needing a lot of hugs right now, not three days ago a woman exploded in her face and now she's dealing with such heavy revelations about herself, her lineage and her forgotten past! Not to mention whatever mental trauma Poppy caused!**

 **Well, until next time! Bye!**

 **Moon**


End file.
